Vitis: Bring back college fees?
As the post mortem into who or what killed the Celtic Tiger has now well and truly exhausted every possibility, the focus switches to how to get the economy back on track. One of the positives is the education system. Ireland has the highest ratio of graduates per capita among the 23-34 year-old cohort in the EU. In the era of the knowledge economy, a highly educated and skilled workforce is a must have.
Free education was possible in the boom years because the State's coffers were bloated with property taxes. But those days are over and The Government has introduced a series of austere budgets. Education is one of the areas been targeted for cutbacks. But university heads claim that the system is creaking at the seams and already badly underfunded. Moreover, other countries are catching up fast in the education league tables which is clawing back Ireland's competitive advantage.
Surely the reintroduction of fees is the silver bullet? After all, graduates earn more than non-graduates which would seem the most equitable solution of the lot. Not according to the Green Party, although the rationale for this position is still lost on Vitis.
