Madam, – I have been lecturing and researching in the third-level sector in Ireland since 1994 and also act as external examiner in an overseas university ranked among the top five in the world. Concerns about grade inflation are not a solely Irish phenomenon. They are universally found in those countries where governments have pushed for significant increases in graduate numbers. As a recent report on the housing stock shows, oversupply devalues existing properties and ultimately depresses the market. Ireland will be best served with a fresh emphasis on talent and on real equity in educational opportunity at every level.
Societies and the economies that go with them are best served by a variety of educational tracks. Third-level degrees should be universally accessible, but not universally urged. Piling graduate numbers high and slapping a Q-mark on them all is unlikely to do anything more than create another layer of bureaucracy. Everyone agrees that Ireland needs good people, talented people. But quality people are not exclusively those with letters after their name. We’d be a happier and maybe even a more affluent society if we let ourselves admit that. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The debate on standards in education has been very superficial. It is national policy that 90 per cent of students will complete upper secondary education and that virtually all of these will transfer to higher or further education. This is the correct policy and indeed progress in implementing it has been a significant achievement.
However, it must be evident that a system designed to retain and educate nearly the entire annual cohort will be significantly different to one meant for a gifted elite. The important question is whether the education provided is adequately preparing people for their chosen field. As far as I am aware our doctors, nurses, chefs, teachers, journalists and so on are still well regarded at home and abroad. However, if there is solid evidence, not just anecdotes, that this is not the case in a particular field, then that is a serious matter and needs to be addressed. This can be done in various ways, for example by increasing entry requirements to that particular field.
In the context of an inclusive system designed to meet the educational needs of everyone from the academically gifted to those with serious learning disabilities, generalisations about standards and “dumbing down” is just so much hot air. – Yours, etc,