Vol. 483 No. 1
223 Ms M. Fox asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason a person (details supplied) was accepted to do a diploma in electronics in Tallaght Regional Technical College, Dublin 24 and then discovered that the distance learning option is only available to employees of companies (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19917/97]
I understand from the Regional Technical College Tallaght that this student applied and was accepted for entry to the open national diploma in electronics which the college offers on a part-time basis to any qualified applicant. This course was not offered on a distance learning basis and the student would have been aware of this when he applied.
In relation to distance-learning option the position is that the Regional Technical College Tallaght is currently piloting a national diploma in electronics in distance learning mode in partnership with Intel Ireland who are contributing substantial funding. This pilot is based on an existing Intel specific national diploma in electronics and the students are drawn from Intel for the course. As the student in question is not an employee of Intel, this course was never available or open to him. This pilot run will enable the college to test the material, delivery methods and support mechanisms in preparation for making this and other courses available as part of the college's normal programme.
