A new study has shown that students from professional and managerial backgrounds are going in larger numbers to institutes of technology. (ITs).
In the past young people from such backgrounds have tended to opt for universities.
However, the study, by Mr Dermot Duffy and Mr Patrick McGarty, of Athlone Institute of Technology, also found that children from working-class families continue to be the least represented group in both universities and ITs, formerly known as regional technical colleges.
In the 1996-1997 academic year only 4 per cent of first-year students in ITs and 1 per cent at universities came from families classified as unskilled manual workers.
In contrast, nearly 50 per cent of first-year university students came from professional-employer-managerial backgrounds, compared to 28 per cent in the IT sector.
Between 1992-1993 and 19961997 the numbers of students from higher professional, lower professional and employer-managerial backgrounds going to ITs rose from 480 to 570, from 680 to 920, and from 830 to 1215, respectively.
However, the two largest socio-economic groupings represented at ITs remain farmers and skilled workers, albeit with slightly reduced numbers.
The authors call for a number of initiatives to increase participation from disadvantaged groups.
These include income support for disadvantaged families with second and third-level students; college outreach centres in working-class areas; and an overhaul of the maintenance grant system.