Fees would limit access to third-level education

THE President of UCC, Dr Michael Murphy, has called for the re-introduction of fees for universities (The Irish Examiner, March 2). Such a move would, at a stroke, rule out third-level education for thousands of students.

Our economy has benefited enormously from graduates, many of whom received a third-level education only made possible by the absence of fees. The single biggest beneficiaries of the abolition of fees for third-level education were the children of the middle class. Why should middle-class parents be saddled with a huge, unnecessary, education expense?

Dr Murphy states that adequate provision would have to be made to ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds would continue to have access to third-level education. Seeing as these children never had to pay fees, I doubt they would be included in any reintroduction of fees.