RECORD NUMBERS of students are enrolling in third-level colleges amid continuing uncertainty about employment prospects.
The surge brings the number of full-time undergraduate students in Ireland to over 110,000, more than the total number engaged in farming and related activities.
The current academic year has seen unprecedented demand at the Central Applications Office (CAO), with applications up over 8 per cent to 45,582. This compares with 42,117 last year and 39,915 two years ago.
In addition, growing numbers are also returning to higher education or accessing college through routes other than the CAO.
About two-thirds of 18-year-olds proceed to higher education, one of the highest participation rates in the OECD. The increase is expected to place fresh strains on Irish universities which are poorly funded compared to other OECD states. Between them, University College Dublin and University College Cork have accumulated debts of over €30 million.
Last night, Michael Kelly, Higher Education Authority (HEA) chairman, acknowledged the third-level sector will be “under significant pressure as we expect that demand to continue to grow”.
Mike Jennings, of the Irish Federation of University Teachers, said colleges “cannot provide the required high level of education for an ever-increasing number of entrants when recruitment and promotions are banned, wages and resources are being slashed, and even maternity leave vacancies cannot be filled.”
The HEA figures also show a steep decline in students taking technology-related courses in the past decade.
This year, only 23 per cent of higher-level degree students are taking technology courses, down from 32 per cent in 2000. Only 4 per cent are taking higher or level 8 degree courses in computing, compared to over 8 per cent in 2000.
Engineering has also seen a sharp decline in interest. Only 4 per cent are taking Level 8 engineering courses this year, compared to double that figure in 2000.
The trends will confirm the view of former Intel chief executive Craig Barrett, who told the recent Farmleigh summit that Ireland needed to “raise its game” significantly in producing top-class science graduates.
His address has been widely seen as a wake-up call for the education service. Next week – partly in response to Mr Barrett’s concern – the Government is expected to unveil a major new programme for information technology in schools.
The Government will point to the increase in numbers taking science and technology courses in the past year. But critics say this progress is coming from a very low base: 11 per cent of higher-level students (3,500) opted for science this year, up from 10 per cent last year.
For the first time, students accepting places in the institutes of technology (46.5 per cent) have outstripped those commencing in the seven universities (44.5 per cent).
According to figures compiled by Dr Vivienne Patterson of the HEA, some 32 per cent of higher-level degree students are taking arts and humanities courses. Among all those accepting places at third level, some 62 per cent were offered and accepted their first-choice course.