Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being in the Seanad this afternoon. I thank the Minister, Deputy Harris; the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins; and the officials in the Department for all the work they have undertaken to prepare a safe reopening of the higher and further education sector this term. I wish to echo much of what my colleague, Senator Hoey, said in her contribution. She gave a great snapshot of all of the different issues that face students that might not necessarily have made it on to the radar of many of us.

As a university Senator, I have engaged with universities, colleges and staff that have specific concerns around Covid. I hope we can keep the rate of unavoidable risk to the absolute minimum and allow people to start and progress with their studies despite the pandemic.

There has been significant public discussion and controversy on the nature of entry to third level education this year, based on the nature of this year's leaving certificate and the predicted grades system as it relates to the CAO process and entry into third level education. I have been contacted by many worried parents and students who feel that the system is unfair for various reasons.However, I also know of many cases of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who will now be attending third level because their grades were not docked on the grounds of going to a DEIS school. We have a lot to learn about third level entry from this year's leaving certificate. First, it highlights the extraordinary level of educational attainment inequality that exists based on the school someone goes to and the socioeconomic background someone is from, which is normally such a feature of the system and heavily determines entry into third level. What has really been illustrated is the weakness of such a system. I hope one of the first priorities of the Minister's term will be to explore alternatives to the leaving certificate as the primary determinant of entry to third level. Now is the time to abandon what we once knew as the leaving certificate and move to a fairer, more diverse approach to third level education.

In 2017, the Joint Committee on Education and Skills commenced a review of the ongoing reform of the leaving certificate and subsequently published its report in 2018. At the time, members expressed a real need to support students in their progression to third level. Looking back now, it is easy to assume that they were easier, less stressful times for leaving certificate students. However, we should imagine for a moment that it was not a pandemic that threw the leaving certificate on its head this year but rather the political will to have a real, inclusive education system that values students from all backgrounds and learning types in all their diversity. Had the leaving certificate been dropped in a planned, thought-out manner, we would be looking at a new era for education that recognises ability and allows young people to excel at a pace that is fair and is not based on grinds, rote learning and exam ability. The introduction to the committee's report states:

[T]he Committee sought to examine how to strike a balance between protecting the health and wellbeing of students, promoting their self-development and ensuring that they are well-equipped with the essential skills and knowledge required to successfully participate in a rapidly changing society and economy.

This is now more true than ever as that rapidly changing society has revved up a gear. This year, our third level students will be there based on much more than a mark from a set of exams in a particular year of their lives. We should take our learnings from this year and use them as a foundation for next year and the year after.

It is crucial that we meet the changing nature of the leaving certificate this year with a review of the CAO and the limited capacity of higher education. We have an opportunity to increase the number of students progressing to third level in a much more meaningful way, but this requires a real want on the Government's part to increase funding to the sector and ensure universities are respected and resourced for the role they play in the social, cultural and financial development and sustainment of our society. Previously, it was believed that incentivising students to take higher level subjects to receive extra points was a positive step forward in securing extra points to advance to third level. This is incredibly narrow and, like many incentives, benefits those in a position to take on the burden of extra workload and to access extra grinds at a massive financial cost. Many schools are way behind in the delivery of higher level subjects and often do not even offer higher level subjects. Now we have an opportunity to incentivise the everyday engagement and participation of students in all subjects, in the knowledge that their continuous academic ability is what they will be assessed on. The third level sector benefits from diversity but the leaving certificate does not provide it.

I also have concerns about capacity in the sector. Senator Higgins echoes these concerns. I know the Minister is proposing to increase course places to deal with points inflation this year and to assist students who did their leaving certificate last year so they are not disadvantaged. However, I have heard anecdotally that there are certain academic schools within Trinity that simply do not have the operational capacity to expand places. What is the plan not only to provide funding to colleges but also to ensure the places are actually delivered? What is the Minister's position on the Cassells report and how does he plan to enact a long-term funding model for a sector that was already on its knees pre-Covid? Higher education funding and access is an issue very close to my heart and I would appreciate if the Minister would outline his plans in this area.