The sum of its parts

A chara, – In Jonathan Dukes’s (May 17th) response to the proposal of John Thompson (May 16th) that financial incentives could be offered to students in areas where there is a local skills shortage, it is claimed that there is a “relatively high cost of educating students in areas such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem subjects)”.

While mathematics often gets bundled into Stem, unless the cost of blackboards and chalk has gone up, or mathematicians are commanding six-figure salaries in Ireland, it is hard to imagine mathematics ever being high cost. – Is mise,

EOIN Ó COLGAIN,

Seoul,

Giant squid – elusive creature of the deep

---

Legislative inertia

---

Third-level education and loans system

---

Welfare fraud – a culture of hysteria?

---

South Korea.