Инженерный вестник: IRELAND: Irish colleges prepare for an influx of fee refugees from Britain

Irish universities could face a surge in applications from Britain next year as cash-strapped students flee soaring fees.

Annual fees at many English universities will be increased to over €10,000 a year. The new charges will come into effect for new entrants to college courses in 2012.

The fees hikes will mean there will be a huge difference in charges between English and Irish universities.

As EU citizens British students are entitled to study here for the same fees as their Irish counterparts. That means that their annual charge, as things stand, will be a student contribution of €2,000.

Lower fees could also be a magnet for Northern students. In Northern Ireland tuition fees are capped at €3,682, but a consultation process is under way, with proposals ranging from abolition of fees to an increase to over €10,000.

NUI Galway said it is already seen a 163% increase in applications from British and Northern Irish students.

The university's schools liaison officer, Grainne Dunne said: "NUI Galway has experienced a huge increase in interest and in applications from students in the UK and Northern Ireland. This demand is driven partly by the increase in tuition fees but also by a better understanding of the full range of programmes offered by universities in the republic.''

According to the latest figures from the CAO, the number of UK students applying to Irish universities has increased by 10% to 1,589 this year.

That rise is not dramatic, but the real effect is unlikely to be seen until 2012 when the higher fees come into effect.

Malcolm Byrne, a spokesman for the Higher Education Authority, said: "It's too early to tell what the effect of the English fee increases will be. We will be looking at this very closely.''

John Gill of the Times Higher Education Review said any big increase in numbers crossing the Irish Sea is likely to happen in 2012.

Those who apply for English universities this year will be the last to be charged under the lower fees regime.

Source: The Independent
Photo: Trinity College, Dublin

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