Irish Examiner view: Other options than university
Of Each Year Matched File Many Places This Picture Been Applicants Not Increases, Yet By Number The Has Additional
Those intending to study accountancy will be likely to have heard of the law of supply and demand. The problem comes when demand outstrips supply, leading to price inflation or, for Leaving Certificate graduates, inflation in CAO points.
Each year the number of applicants increases, yet this has not been matched by many additional places. This year, some school-leavers with 600 points and more failed to secure a place across a range of highly contested courses.
Back in July the Cabinet agreed on a €24m package to fund an extra 4,620 college places this month, but, substantial though that figure is, it will scarcely make a difference overall. Most of those extra places will be taken up by the extra demand in a year of record CAO applications.
For the past three years, universities have offered extra places for courses in high demand but the reality is that, without increased funding, they cannot continue to do so.
In the longer term, we need a national rethink on our obsession with going to university. There are other routes to a worthwhile career, as many successful people have shown.