CAO POINTS for college courses in arts, business and science are expected to increase after the record number of college applications this year.
Applications are up by about 10 per cent; this comes after a 6 per cent increase in 2009.
Michael Gleeson of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors raised concerns that a 1980s-style points race could return. Career experts say points for broadly based courses will rise as students opt for courses giving them maximum flexibility.
A spokesman for Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe said that over 71,000 students have applied for 45,000 places. He said the gap between supply and demand would narrow in the months ahead because some applicants will not get the required points. Others will decide to repeat, defer, apply for places in Northern Ireland or the UK, or enter post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) or apprenticeship programmes.
Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes said the cap on PLC places needed to be lifted. Mr Hayes said official figures show there were almost 37,000 applications for 13,000 courses for this academic this year.
“The record number of CAO applications is bound to leave many potential students frustrated and without a college place. Lifting the cap on PLC places will undoubtedly ease this pressure and allow thousands to pursue a much-desired third-level course.”
The Minister’s spokesman said an extra 1,500 places were allocated for the current year.
Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe yesterday said he was aware of criticism of a culture of rote learning in secondary schools.
This can, he said, result in a strong focus on securing CAO points, rather than the acquisition of skills and real understanding. He said the revised maths courses being piloted would promote understanding.
Students, he said, would see the relevance of maths to their everyday lives. He was speaking at a symposium on The Place of Mathematics Education in Ireland’s Future at Trinity College Dublin.