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Inishowen students off to college
18.08.09
Students opt to
continue in education in difficult economic climate
by Damian Dowds, Inishowen
Independent
FOLLOWING last week’s Leaving Certificate results
the number of Inishowen students taking up places to
third level is expected to increase on recent years.
Students, it seems, are looking to wait out the
recession in college hoping that employment
prospects will have improved by the time they
graduate in a couple of years’ time.
Letters from the Central Applications Office (CAO)
containing offers of third level places arrived at
the homes of hundreds of Inishowen Leaving
Certificate students yesterday morning, and teachers
and students alike are confident that more students
than ever will take up places when college resumes
in September.
“Because of the economic climate, college is a good
place to be for the next couple of years,” said
Eamon Ryan, career guidance counsellor at Moville
Community College. “Students who might have gone
into the workforce in previous years will be looking
at taking up training or college places in
September.” |
Dara McDaid, head girl
at Crana College last year, agreed. “Our careers
teachers have been hammering that point home to us
for months,” she said. “Because of the shortage of
jobs, there’s been a big focus on college places.
And students here at Crana College have done very
well, with our principal Mr Galbraith saying that
results are even better than last year.”
In general, schools across Inishowen reported good
results, with particularly good results in subjects
that are usually considered difficult,
especially maths and science.
“We had good results in English with most honours
students getting their honour even though we had to
sit our English Paper II on the Saturday morning
after they messed up by handing out the wrong paper
in a school in Louth,” Dara, who hopes to take up a
place at university in Liverpool, said.
While the intensity of the points race has abated in
recent years, competition in the most popular
courses is still intense.
“There is more capacity in the system than in the
past, but the most sought after courses are still
very competitive from a points perspective,” Mr Ryan
said. “But there have been some new innovations this
year, with admission tests for medicine. No one
knows what the effect of that will be, but we expect
to see it extended to other parts of the medicine in
the coming years.”
While Inishowen students have traditionally attended
Northern colleges in large numbers, the introduction
of third-level fees there has seen that trend
reversed. “What the Minister for Education does
about free fees at third-level later this year
remains to be seen,” Eamon Ryan said. “But with free
fees in the Republic, students are more likely to
take up places in Dublin or Galway rather than
Belfast where fees must be paid.” |
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