Education revamp is on course for success as ‘earn and learn’ booms
WHEN the late Chinese premier Zhou Enlai was asked in 1972 to assess the implications of the French Revolution he famously replied that it was “too early” to decide.
We could probably say the same about the new Leaving Certificate grades and CAO system introduced last year to take the heat out of the points race. It will take some time to be definitive but the early indications are that it is working.
The changes have certainly reduced the incidence of random selection for courses when a lot of applicants ended up on the same ‘cut-off’ points. Too often in the past applicants were left hanging on for the second round of offers in the hope that every applicant on the same points on random would get a place or that points would drop by five or more.
Overall, this year points did rise on more than 300 honours degree courses, but dropped for around 400 others. The pattern was very obvious in UCD, affecting twothirds of its courses while the decreases were more common in Trinity. The remaining Level 8 courses across higher education were either the same as last year or included portfolios or tests.
So what are we to make of the new system which was introduced last year amid some concerns that students would find it too complicated? The old arrangement certainly had the virtue of simplicity with 14 neat divisions and 5pc of the marks separating most grades. Now there are just 8 grades and a H3 for example equates to 77 points or 102 for maths if you get the bonus points. Confusing or what?
Not so, it appears most students have adapted well to the new system, which is the result of several years of planning by the Department of Education and Skills, the Higher Education Authority, the universities, institutes of technology, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment etc.
A public sector reform that works well is rare enough and its success or otherwise will be clearer as the new system beds in over the next few years.
If it halts the rise in points it will be well received by students and their parents. Predictably though, the universities, in their press releases, last night were boasting about courses where points increased significantly but largely overlooked those where points dropped. Reading their releases alone might give the impression that it’s mostly an upwards trend, but that’s not necessarily the case.
This year was noticeable for a number of other reasons besides the ups and downs in points. Fewer students took the Leaving and fewer of them applied to the CAO but that is just a blip, as the numbers taking the Leaving are expected to climb again. And the vast majority of those taking the Leaving in future will apply to the CAO or some other form of further education.
Less certain is the numbers of mature applicants into the future – the number of those aged 23 and over applying to the CAO dropped from 10,912 last year to 9,689 this year. It’s a significant decrease and explained largely by the boom in the economy as adults are snapping up jobs more readily than in the past.
Many no longer see the necessity to get an additional third-level qualification to succeed in the workplace. That may change if the economy turns.
The Brexit effect is noticeable in the decline in applications from Northern Ireland, which are down 20pc from 958 last year to 763 this year. The drop is probably caused by uncertainty over future arrangements for cross-Border student travel, which is a pity. Law was always a popular choice for Northern applicants, which may explain the dip in points for the law course at Trinity.
BUT the Leaving Certificate is not simply a screening mechanism for college entry. In a country obsessed with degrees it’s easy to overlook the fact that many students don’t apply to the CAO and don’t necessarily want to go to college. Today is not their day.
This year, some 55,245 students entered to sit the Leaving Certificate (down from 56,569 last year). Of those, 45,928 applied to the CAO, down from 47,656 last year. In other words one in six of June’s Leaving Cert students didn’t apply for college this year.
That pattern has not changed that dramatically in recent years.
But what has altered is the opening up of new opportunities for those non-CAO applicants. In the past their options were limited to apprenticeships in certain trades, post-Leaving Certificate courses, work or emigration. Now we are at the start of a virtual explosion in the range of apprenticeships and traineeships where young people can earn and learn. Some of the new courses will lead to primary degrees or even Master’s degrees in the same way as happens in successful economies such as Germany.
The development is raising the status of apprenticeships in a country where academic snobbery has too often prevented young people from realising their potential in training courses outside of higher education.
It’s also hastening the erosion in the divisions between further and higher education.
Instead of looking at a hierarchy of opportunities with universities on top, young people will increasingly see a continuum where they can pick and choose courses, apprenticeships and internships that suit them for their lives and careers.
Academic snobbery has stopped young people from realising their potential in training outside of higher education