THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION has ruled out introducing a government-funded student loan scheme in order to finance the country’s struggling third-level education system.
Under the proposals, third-level students would repay loans to the State over a number of years. However Minister Ruairí Quinn said that such a scheme would require too much initial investment and too much time to refund itself, and therefore had “no value”.
As the scheme as been ruled out, a reintroduction of third-level fees appears more likely and another hike in registration fees seems almost inevitable.
What do you think: would students borrowing from the state to fund their education help to train Ireland’s young workforce and plug the funding hole in the third level system – or would it put an unnecessary amount of pressure on the country’s already strained finances?
Should a state-funded student loan scheme be introduced?
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