Sir, – Third-level institutions must take some responsibility for the high drop- out rate at college level. Does the Higher Education Authority monitor the quality of lecturing, the lecture content and the exam processes of these institutions?
Is it not strange that teachers at primary and secondary level have to undergo years of training but there seems to be no requirement for training at third level?
Is it not even stranger that promotion at this level is dependent on research and published papers but not on the quality of teaching and interaction with students?
Colleges may be underfunded and understaffed, but with drop-out rates as high as they are I suspect that parental expectation and unmotivated students are only part of the problem. – Yours, etc,
KATHLEEN BARTON,
Raheny, Dublin 5.