Brendan Smith
Ceist:202 Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills his policy on increasing participation at third level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11007/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 28 February 2012
Ceisteanna (161)
Freagraí scríofa
Ireland currently performs very strongly in terms of participation in higher education and has the highest tertiary attainment rate among 25-34 year olds in the European Union. Projections published by my Department in June of this year show that the demand for higher education in Ireland is set to grow by 62% in the next twenty years.
While welcome, the scale of projected growth will present major challenges for Ireland's higher education system in ensuring that student numbers can be accommodated in a sustainable way that does not compromise high quality outcomes.
The National Strategy for Higher Education makes a number of recommendations for system development, flexibility, efficiency and change aimed at supporting sustainable growth while protecting quality. Implementation of strategy recommendations is underway and a progress report is available on www.education.ie.