PART 2 READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

Education Cuts Counterproductive to Long-Term Goals

In the latest so-called league table of universities around the world, Irish institutes have performed comparatively poorly, with only one of the ‘big three’ making progress in the right direction through the rankings. Arguably Ireland’s most prestigious university, Trinity College Dublin registered a sharp fall and has now gone from being just outside the top 50 in the world, placed in position 52 last year, to 65th twelve months later. University College Dublin fared even worse in the World University Rankings, and now lies in 134th place, some 20 places worse off than it was last year. The only good news, and it was hardly something to write home about, came by way of University College Cork’s modest rise from 184th to 181 st place.

University presidents were quick to blame cutbacks for the slippage and have criticised the government for taking funding out of third-level education, claiming that this will undermine our reputation as a very well-educated workforce in the long term and damage the prospects for a meaningful economic recovery over the next ten to fifteen years for this debt-ridden country.

UCD president Hugh Brady was quick to highlight the futility of Irish universities’ attempts to compete with their British and American counterparts. Brady points out that UK universities now charge undergraduate students on average €10,000 per annum. In America, the cost of university education can be even more excessive.

Here in Ireland, third-level education is still free, but there are calls for fees to be reintroduced, otherwise this years’ slide down the rankings is likely to be repeated again in 12 months’ time.

Another option open to Irish universities is to gain more of a foothold in the market for attracting foreign students. Tapping deeper into the global education market would prove very lucrative and, as funding continues to be pulled out of third-level education by the government, this is now seen as crucial for the future in this country. However, the Irish universities’ poor performance in the rankings is a double-edged sword; not only is it harming their international reputation, but in doing so, it is also making it more difficult to attract foreign fee-paying students for enrolment in years to come. And yet, without the funding such students provide, Irish universities will continue to plot a downward course in the rankings. It is a vicious circle.

Ironically, in making it harder for local universities to compete on the global stage by cutting funding, the government is undermining its own policy agenda, which is to attract double the number of foreign students each year by 2018. The economics of this policy are sound; Ireland currently attracts around 26,000 foreign students per annum. Each international student spends an average of €20,000 in fees and expenses, so it is clear to see how doubling the number would provide a massive boost for the economy and much-needed funding for the universities themselves.

Moreover, in the long run, as these well-educated and highly skilled international students would hopefully depart Ireland with a positive impression of the country, they would open up new trading and investment opportunities as they returned home to their native countries. This is obviously a very sensible government policy, which makes the government’s decision to divert funding away from education all the more short-sighted and counterproductive.

As for the calls to reintroduce university fees, these have been met with understandable anger from both parent and student groups. The Students’ Association of Ireland has threatened to organise a huge protest march, should it get even the slightest hint that there is some support in government circles for this proposal. Union president, Michael Carmody, promises to bring the city centre to a complete standstill and cause widespread disruption to business and services if the government approves any plans for the reintroduction of fees. ‘We will not take this lying down’, he said. ‘Ireland is not a classist society and we are very proud of that. Everyone has an equal opportunity to attend third-level courses no matter how well-off their parents are or what their background is. If we allow fees to be reintroduced, university will become the preserve of an elite few; either that or, as is the case in Britain, students will be burdened with huge debts for the rest of their lives. No. We will not stand idly by and let this happen.

Questions 14-18

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

14. The top three Irish universities

all performed very disappointingly in the global university league tables.

ranked the same or worse in this year’s World University Rankings than the previous year.

in the World University Rankings are all ranked outside of the top 50.

in the World University Rankings, from highest to lowest, are Trinity College, University College Cork and University College Dublin.

15. What do those in charge of Irish universities attribute their performance in the rankings to?

a build-up of debt in the country

a slippage in standards of teaching in third-level education

a reduction in the amount of third-level funding being made available by the government

Ireland’s poor reputation for educating its workforce

16. Why does Hugh Brady think it is pointless for Irish universities to try to compete with prestigious British and American ones?

People would not be willing to pay as much in fees to attend an Irish university as they would to attend a British or American one.

Not only are Irish universities facing funding cuts, but they are not allowed to charge fees, unlike their British and American counterparts.

Ireland’s performance in the university rankings has been a big blow to its reputation in the field of third-level education.

Fees are soon going to be reintroduced in Ireland, putting Irish universities under a significant burden of debt.

17. What can Irish universities do to source more funding, with the exception of introducing fees?

lobby the government and call on it to change its funding policy

attract more fee-paying domestic students

entice more students from abroad to study the courses they offer

develop a better understanding of the global education market

18. Why is Ireland’s performance in the global rankings ‘a double-edged sword’?

because it damages the reputation of Irish university both domestically and internationally

because the universities damaged reputation abroad also means fewer fee-paying international students will be prepared to enrol, making their financial situation even worse

because Irish universities cannot attract foreign investment in their facilities if their reputation is undermined by their poor performance in the global rankings

because Irish students will look to be educated abroad at more reputable universities as fee-paying foreign students if their own third-level institutes are inadequate

Questions 19-22

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer given in Reading Passage 2?

Write

YES.	if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO.	if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN.	if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

19.YESNONOT GIVEN The government’s decision to cut funding to universities is going to prove counterproductive to its own goals.

20.YESNONOT GIVEN The government’s target of attracting an average of more than 50,000 foreign students each year by 2018 is an unsound policy.

21.YESNONOT GIVEN Despite the fact that parents and children are unhappy about it, the call for student fees to be reintroduced is to be welcomed.

22.YESNONOT GIVEN The protest march, were it to go ahead, would attract a large number of participants; such is the anger among students.

Questions 23-26

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.

A.	cautiously optimistic about the effect a reintroduction of fees would have.
B.	believes Ireland’s system, unlike the UK’s, burdens students with too much debt.
C.	believes Ireland has a system of third-level education which is, at present, not elitist.
D.	were Ireland to introduce student fees, either students from poor families would be debt-burdened or they would be prevented from getting a third-level education at all.
E.	a reflection of the frustration felt by parent and student groups generally at the prospect of a reintroduction of fees.
F.	determined to react strongly in the face of any moves to reintroduce student fees.