Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this issue.

My concerns centre on the difficulties being experienced by graduates of business courses who are applying to study professional diplomas in education but who cannot receive the back to education allowance. This is due to a higher points threshold imposed upon them by the Postgraduate Applications Centre since 2006. This was introduced due to the high demand of business graduates for places on PDEs. The requirement effectively demands that business students have a master's qualification in order to reach the required number of points to qualify for the postgraduate diploma in education. However, this has implications for one's eligibility for the back to education allowance as the same students are ultimately seeking to study for postgraduate diploma in education, which is a lesser qualification than a master's degree. This goes against the principle of progression and therefore renders the students ineligible for their payment. It defeats the purpose intended by the Government, as many prospective PDE students, once they realise they cannot receive the back to education allowance, are deciding not to pursue the course, as it is financially unviable for them to do so.

This is fundamentally wrong. We are meant to be encouraging people to return to education with a view to upskilling, acquiring further training and gaining employment in future. To cite an example, with business graduates this year required to have 53 points to qualify for the postgraduate diploma in education, it is impossible for such graduates to secure a place without a masters degree because 45 points is the maximum awarded for a first class honours primary degree. Therefore, even when one factors in the five points awarded for work experience, business graduates still fall short of the 53 points required.

I fully understand that the progression principle is in place to ensure displacement does not occur and I accept that courses should not be offered to students who are not progressing at a cost to students progressing from a lower level. However, business students are being disproportionately affected by the progression rule. For this reason, I ask the Minister to review the position to ensure business students are not penalised.

I draw attention to two significant and noteworthy points. First, the Government, through the Teaching Council, insists that everyone who pursues a teaching career must have a postgraduate diploma in education, PDE. In other words, the only way to secure employment in teaching is through the PDE process. Second, this requirement is affecting a larger cohort of students than ever because of the massive swell in the number of unemployed people seeking to return to education. As I outlined, it is Government policy to return people to the classroom to upskill and engage in further training.

A further difficulty is the absence of clarity at departmental level as to which Department is responsible for rectifying this administrative difficulty. I have pursued this issue in recent months with the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Social Protection. The former is responsible for the postgraduate applications centre which made the decision in 2006 to impose a higher points threshold on business graduates. As I noted, this decision was taken in response to the large number of applicants for the course. The Department of Social Protection, on the other hand, is responsible for the back to education allowance.

The Department has pointed out in its statement of conditions applying that the scheme is not statutorily based and decisions on eligibility are made at its discretion. This means there is scope to accommodate business students who find themselves trapped in this administrative quagmire and who are ultimately discouraged from returning to the classroom. The scheme, as administered, is flawed as it disproportionately affects business graduates and acts as a disincentive to education when we should be making every reasonable effort to get people back into education and training.

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