Extra places will be provided in high demand college courses such as medicine, law and nursing to help ease pressure of third-level applicants.
According to The Irish Times, the Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris will bring a plan to the Cabinet next week which will see certain college courses see an up to five percent increase in numbers admitted.
Officials believe that there will be even more pressure on domestic course numbers as students will choose to study in Ireland rather than study abroad due to COVID-19.
Certain officials have said that the Department of Further and Higher Education have asked colleges to create more spaces in already oversubscribed courses.
Courses such as medicine and veterinary science have caps on students due to the limited number of placements that are available in order for students to complete their education. However, officials have been in direct contact with the Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture about lifting those caps.
There are countless other aspects of this plan which could cause problems.
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The upcoming academic year already has to face a litany of obstacles due to COVID-19 and the regulations surrounding the pandemic. An increase in course numbers will mean a tougher job in managing modules and class sizes for the upcoming year.
Furthermore, according to The Irish Times, officials from the Department of Higher and Further Education have said they are being careful to avoid “unbalancing” the third-level system by attracting more students into degree courses at the expense of further education and other sectors.
These issues aren't going away. In fact, over the course of the next month, the decisions made are going to have huge ramifications on not just Irish academia, but the lives of prospective students going forward.
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