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AS A TRADE Union activist and a former Union organiser I was incredibly heartened by the successful fight which the Trinity College Students Union (TDSU) took last month against the introduction of a repeat exam fee of €450.
This latest battle went to the very heart of what is really the ‘Americanisation’ of third level education in Ireland.
State funding
Since 2011 State funding of third level education has plummeted by an incredible 25% – grants have been cut, students dependent on financial assistance have been forced to drop out of college, mental health services have been slashed, key support services have been privatised, and the casualisation of lecturing and teaching posts has become the norm.
We now have a situation in which participation from those in the lower socioeconomic groupings in our society stands at 26%, while we have practically full participation from those born into the higher professional grouping.
Students are effectively being priced out of an education.
At present, access to third level is not merely on merit, but a lottery based upon which family and postcode you were born into. That is a gross level of inequality – and it is government policy driven.
A business model
“Never waste a good crisis” is an old adage favoured by right-wingers. Most worryingly, the boards of Irish universities have taken this crisis as an opportunity to forge ahead with their ideological preference of a higher level system based on a ‘business model’ – where public institutions will be aligned with the demands of business, rather than the needs of the public.
This is not Sinn Féin’s theory – this is the reality of what is happening.
The fight which the students of Trinity took against the board of TCD was of huge significance – and so was that of achieving a victory. A message has been sent from TCDSU to those who run our third level institutions across the state that the exploitation of students is over and a change in policy is demanded.
Cassells report
This is of particular relevance in the ongoing debate as to how the State should fund higher level education going forward. The Cassells report (2016) outlined three potential avenues. It is that of option three, the introduction of Income Contingent Loans (ICLs), which we must voice our strongest opposition to.
ICLs have failed in England, New Zealand, Australia – they essentially have the financial credibility of a Ponzi scheme. The introduction of ICLs in England has seen student debt rocket from £12.2b in 2001 to £86.2b in 2016, and it is expected that 70% of those students will never pay those loans back.
New Zealand has now made it a criminal offence to default on your loans, and officers are waiting at airports in Australia to arrest graduates flying home for funerals and weddings.
Most alarmingly, participation levels of the lowest socio-economic grouping in Australia has fallen to 16%, even much lower than our own, while in Britain for the first time ever, 2013 saw a decrease in participation from the poorest section of their society, those individuals being those who are in receipt of the free school allowance.
Model won’t work here
Not only that, but research carried by TCD Dr Larkin and DCU Dr Corbet (2015) has suggested that Ireland’s economy and culture could perhaps be the perfect storm of chaos in which to introduce such an ICL model.
This model won’t work in a country that has (1) a history of emigration – as graduates will just leave (2) a culture of high levels of personal debt and (3) an economy characterised by low wages and precarious employment – because ICLs are based on compound interest and before you know it you’re in a black hole with no way out.
What Sinn Féin is calling for a move away from the privatisation of education, and for the government to commit itself to option 1 of the Cassels report, the abolition of university fees and the implementation of a higher education system free at the point of entry.
There is a reason why the Nordic countries pay their students to go to university, there is a reason why Germany has free third level education, not only for its own citizens but even for those who reside outside of Germany. And the reason for this is that education is not simply a cost to the State, but an investment from which the State will see a return.
But this evidence will be ignored.
Paul Gavan is Sinn Féin spokesperson for education in the Seanad.
Another factor in the drop in savings is the possibility that people have less money.
That’s 48% that won’t vote fg ever again.
I was most worried that around 40% of the present government voted with the motion of no confidence in them,by the time fg serve their term they will be the most hated and won’t see a strong hold in power for another 20years untill the next recession
MVM, that’s what we said about Fianna Fail. And we still have reason to hate Fianna Fail more, but they’re surging in the polls.
MVM.
Fianna Fáil have the worst economic record in Europe, massively corrupt and dishonest as a party. Always party and self before country. A cancer in our society in every way. Nothing good in them and yet …
They are still rising in the polls. There is a large segment of the electorate that has battered wife syndrome and the more they are dumped on, the more they will love someone for it.
@Richard,and fg are not corrupt wake up will you
I’ve never voted FG, never will. Indeed I’m politically opposite to them. I have no doubt that they are corrupt and that they look after the big man only. I also know that FF are many multiples more corrupt than they are. They are among the most corrupt parties in any democracy that I’m aware of.
Less money being saved?
What do you expect when the government are siphoning off billions to pay for the crimes of common criminals?
@ michael Hayes if the money is been spent on basic living then the economy is stagnant it can’t improve and with the extra charges coming on stream it will regress
Is it true that USC will apply to interest from savings next year? DIRT is already 33% from this year. Enough already!!
Thought it was PRSI that was to be applied.If i’m right would a rate of 37.5% on the interest earned make you want to withdraw the principle and squander it on shopping?Can’t see people with savings being that stupid.
That’s true Reg, USC will apply to all “unearned” income
I remember FG & Labour in government in the 80′s we got screwed then & the people haven’t learned!!! We are NOT saving because we have NOT got anything to save at end of pay day :-( & are barely making ends meet! Didn’t vote for either party this time either, & won’t in the future either!
Just like now, in the ’80s FG and Labour took over a bankrupt country after Fianna Fail. Fianna Fail voter by any chance?
Reg you might want to go back and have a look at FG’s economic record in the 80′s.They were every bit as incomptent as FF and still are.They just had fewer chances than FF at destroying the country.
Ah Norman, you’re making assumptions about thinks I never said. You disappoint me. I was simply stating that Labour and FG came into government after Fianna Fail bankrupted the country. I didn’t comment about how good or bad they were at cleaning up the mess.
Reg you implied Breda’s opinion is less valid because she stated she didn’t vote for this government.Yes your correct i don’t know what you think nor did i try to suggest as to what you thought either.
No I didn’t suggest that her opinion is any less valid. He vote counts the same as mine at the end of the day. I was simply reminding her the reasons why we are getting “screwed” as she put it. She suggests that people haven’t learned. She certainly right there, but I am not sure that she knows that she is!
The reasons fg are such a sh1t party are
A.they are liars which noone can deny
B.they have no business sence and roll over easy to the eu.
Ff would have struck a better deal and if they couldn’t they wouldn’t be going around telling everyone they are getting a better deal when the eu specifically said NO
All this “which party is more economically illiterate” is pointless! I think it’s quiet clear to see that in general the ability of Irish politicians is so low that no party is capable of running an economy.
The falloff in savings is a direct result of the interest rate policy of the ECB. Current interest rates net of DIRT are less than the real rate of inflation. So why would you save money and watch it lose it’s value?
Just thinking of the SSIAs from a few years back and the cars, holidays and house extensions they funded makes you chuckle now…
How the Hell can you save . The government . Are slowly killing the economy . People can’t. Buy food. Never mind save
We need to get real and realize this is good. If 48% of people are putting all of their income into the economy, demand levels are being maintained if not increased. Basically, we’ll spend our way out of the recession.
Do you think maybe 48% are spending all their money because they can’t afford to save?
oh dear :(
You missed the point completely there Michael. People have no money to save, its not that people are choosing to spend all their income..
Michael it is not good news that 48% of people are spending all their monthly income and have nothing left to save. What it means is that 48% of the population as of this moment are terrified that some big unexpected bill is going to appear because they don’t have the money to pay for it.
Not spending what I don’t have to turn economy around..
Another one of those statistics that will go whistling over the government’s head.
I’ve been spending my savings as well as my income……
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