Sir, – I read with interest the article “State’s third-level entry requirements deterring students from the North, says ESRI” (News, September 18th) on the low numbers of third-level students from Northern Ireland pursuing undergraduate courses here.
While the ERSI report details problems with the low number of subjects examined, along with a language requirement, and highlights possible difficulties with the lateness of the announcement of results and, hence, offers of places, it also promotes “an adjustment of the points equivalence”, as one suggested remedy. The article, however, simply misses one clear and substantial issue facing prospective students from Northern Ireland, a factor which also impacts heavily on those school leavers from this jurisdiction, namely the availability and financing of suitable accommodation.
Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris may well hope to make cross-Border study no more difficult for students than taking up a place where they live, but he and his Government colleagues must first address this latter barrier. The most frequent comment which I have heard from parents of these prospective students is simply the barriers created by these costs. – Yours, etc,
JOHN AIKEN,
Dublin 20.