Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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672. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to an increase in the number of third-level students either opting to defer their year of studies or to drop out of college completely by comparison with previous years. [9829/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department is acutely aware of the additional challenges faced by students as a result of Covid-19, and is conscious that this could have the potential to impact on progression rates. We are engaging regularly with the sector to understand how the student experience is being impacted as the academic year progresses.

My officials have spoken with representatives from the higher education sector regarding any changes to the deferral or non-progression rate among students in this year compared to previous years. Deferrals are granted at the discretion of the Higher Education Institutions and the sector has indicated that there was no significant increase or decrease in the number of deferrals in 2020 in comparison to previous years. Although a full analysis of the Semester 2 registration data has not yet been completed, there is no indication of any significant change in the non-progression rate in comparison to previous years. We will continue to liaise with stakeholders in this regard.