Vol. 482 No. 2
114 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the current progress in achieving an annual increase in participation of 500 students from lower socio-economic groups in third level; and whether the realisation of the cumulative target of 2,500 extra students from such groups is still on track. [17507/97]
My Department provides funding for a number of initiatives in the third level sector to improve access for pupils from disadvantaged areas. These initiatives involve linkages between the colleges and local second level schools and incorporate supervised study facilities, extra tuition for pupils, information and advice for parents and pupils, including seminars, mentoring and support teaching in key subject areas.
Proposals specifically relating to disadvantaged students have also been received from the university sector by the Higher Education Authority and £260,000 was provided in 1996 for initiatives in a number of colleges. The proposals, by their nature, are multi-annual in character and further funding is being allocated to this area in 1997. These initiatives, which build on existing programmes and involve links with second level schools, should result in an increased intake of disadvantaged students in 1997-98. Of their nature they need some time to build up and the intake for the academic year 1997-98 will be the starting point for a number of them. The colleges aim at present to reserve at least 200 new places each year for disadvantaged applicants. Support for college proposals is very firmly based on the intention of meeting the targets set and annual progress reports will be submitted to the Higher Education Authority on each of the programmes funded.
In the technological sector the Dublin Institute of Technology has a comprehensive set of activities in which the college is interacting with different disadvantaged groups in Dublin city. There are currently a number of courses in place for mature students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Dublin Institute of Technology proposes to set aside a further number of places for students from disadvantaged areas who do not meet the normal admission criteria. Similar initiatives have also been undertaken in a number of the regional technical colleges.
In July I established a joint education/industry task force to improve the supply of technicians for high-technology industries. As a first step, I have recently announced an initiative whereby colleges and industry will jointly recruit, educate and train technicians. In seeking applicants for the courses, the aim is to attract the kind of applicant who might not before have considered a technician career. These applicants might include, for example, mature applicants who may have been out of the workforce for a while and underemployed or unemployed persons, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is a most important initiative in providing a second chance for people to acquire technical qualifications while addressing one of the clear areas where skills are needed in the economy.
I am satisfied that the third level sector operates very pro-active programmes with second level schools to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to proceed to third level education and further improvements in these initiatives will continue to be made as resources permit.
