STUDENTS ARE deserting courses linked to the property sector, according to new CAO figures.
Demand for programmes in construction, civil engineering, architecture and law has slumped.
Applications for courses linked to construction and the built environment are down by 21 per cent, with applications down 10 per cent in architecture and 7 per cent in law.
But student demand has surged for courses in science, technology and computing, a trend welcomed last night by Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe.
The new figures also mark an unprecedented increase in the number of mature students, as those struggling to find employment opt for college courses.
Last night, career experts predicted an increase in CAO points for many courses, especially in science, where higher-level degree applications have increased by over 9 per cent.
But CAO points for some of the most popular broad-based courses in arts and business courses are likely to change only marginally, as student demand is broadly unchanged.
Overall, the CAO figures confirm a record demand for college places this year.
The total number of student applications has increased by 4,000 to 71,800. Over 2,500 of this increase is accounted for by applicants over 23 years of age.
Last night, Mr O’Keeffe welcomed the strong increase in applications for science and engineering/ technology (up 6 per cent).
There was evidence that the Government’s strategy to get more students into science-based higher education courses was working, he said.
Other main features of the new CAO figures include:
A 26 per cent drop in applications for pharmacy. This may be linked to the bitter dispute between the HSE and pharmacists;
A huge increase (21 per cent) in demand for physiotherapy courses, which declined last year after negative publicity about unemployed graduates;
Continued strong demand for medicine and dentistry (up 5 per cent and 8 per cent respectively).
The first fall-off in demand for teaching in over a decade, amid concern about graduate unemployment. Applications for courses in education are down by 4 per cent.
Among the colleges, the biggest winner appears to have been NUI Maynooth, which registered an 11 per cent increase in first preference applications, with applications to study biotechnology there up 30 per cent.
UCD saw a 5 per cent increase in applications. But applications for the most popular third-level course – UCD Arts, with 1,200 students – declined marginally.
Mr O’Keeffe said last night that the Government was laying strong foundations for an innovative economy through curricular reforms and targeted investment in schools’ high-tech capacity.
He said that an expert group would report shortly on how “we can improve the public perception of maths and encourage more students to take higher-level maths in the Leaving Certificate”.