The return of third-level fees is supported by the OECD report which also calls for a radical change in funding of the sector. Sean Flynn, Education Editor, reports.
While fees have been ruled out by the Government after last week's political controversy, new ways of funding third-level are being examined. This is certain to see much greater involvement by business in the financing of higher education.
The OECD says the current subsidisation of third-level is "questionable on both equity and efficiency grounds". Several OECD countries have successfully targeted support for higher education through fees, loans and grant schemes which include provision for the less well-off, it notes. These findings are important as it is the OECD which has been requested by the Department of Education to conduct the most comprehensive review of the third-level sector in a generation. Preliminary work on the review is already under way.
Earlier this week, the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, stressed that the OECD would be looking at the big structural issues of third-level education. The issue of fees was now closed for the foreseeable future, he said.
Like the OECD, Mr Dempsey is known to favour radical new ways of funding third-level. It is expected that the OECD review will herald a changed era in which business is much more directly involved in the co-financing of higher education. The latest OECD report tends to support Mr Dempsey's argument that the abolition of fees has done little to widen access to third-level.
"While in many OECD countries there has been a trend of an increasing proportion of costs of tertiary education borne by the participants, Ireland is exceptional in having eliminated fees for undergraduate students. However, studies suggest that this policy is yet to show noticeable results in terms of broadening inclusion from all sectors of society." The OECD also makes a strong case for student loans. However, Mr Dempsey has confirmed that an Australian-style "study now, pay later" loans scheme is also off the political agenda.
