Category: education

The Sunday TImes ran an interesting feature today on the performance of secondary schools in Ireland. However, I must admit I found the ranking system wanting. They ordered schools based on the percentage of their pupils who went to “university” and then to “third level”. This produces the absolutely shocking result that the schools in the richest areas where parents are more likely to be able to afford to send their kids to college are ranked best. Let’s ignore the governmental myth of free education. It’s extremely expensive to put any child through college regardless of the means tested grant. I’m not sure where they got their figures but movetoireland’s estimate of living expenses exceeding 7k per year in Dublin seems quite modest.
According to the survey the top secondary school in the country is the private and Jesuit-run Gonzaga, which has a fine reputation. I’m sure it’s deserved based on a long and proud tradition of learning but … children who are sent to Gonzaga are being sent there with the expectation of going to university. This is emphasised in an application process which I find a little idiosyncratic. Like many of the top 10 schools in the survey a student who is disinclined to continue to third level appears the exception rather than the rule. This is not intended as criticism of the top ranked schools nor am I suggesting this is a bad thing. I’m merely reflecting on the nature of a survey which, in my opinion, doesn’t effectively recognise schools which handle a broader demographic while still getting excellent results.

I sincerely hope the proposed University of the South East gets the go ahead. However, while I’d prefer it to be University College Waterford I’m more concerned about the logistics than the nomenclature. Calling it the University of the South East is one of those political decisions which are necessary when you need to sell an idea to politicians who are already counting the cost in votes elsewhere. (e.g CORK) However, the title is still problematic as there’s a perception that the less specific the region represented by a college’s title, the less significant it is. This is a worldwide perception but it’s particularly strong in the UK as new universities were created in the 60s by upgrading advanced institutes of technology. No, the irony of this is not lost on me but why hinder yourself from the outset?
However, the other issue is the logistics of a widely distributed campus. It just doesn’t work. In an era when inter disciplinary research is being promoted it’s wild to suggest that schools should be distributed amongst Waterford, Kilkenny, Wexford etc. It would be a shame to think that Waterford would campaign so hard and so long for a University only to see the chance to establish a critical mass of courses, facilities & expertise impractically distributed throughout the South East.