College entry system is rigged in favour of comfortable classes
Posted on: 26 August 2026
Our system of admissions to higher education is designed to sort students into colleges and courses starkly divided by class, writes Barra Roantree, School of Social Sciences and Philosophy, in The Irish Times.
This week will see about 60,000 young adults receive an offer to study at an Irish higher education institution through the Central Applications Office (CAO).
Receiving an offer is an important milestone and achievement in the lives of these students. For some, it will mark the beginning of a transformative experience that will profoundly affect the course of their lives, including where and with whom they live and work.
Although this system of allocating places at higher education institutions is regarded as transparent and meritocratic by many, it also contributes to levels of social mobility that are more stagnant than most people realise.
Statistics from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) show that just two in five school leavers from areas classified as disadvantaged went on to higher education in 2023 compared with almost nine in 10 of those from affluent areas.
In other words, a child living in Dublin’s Blackrock was more than twice as likely to progress from secondary to higher education as a child living in Ballyfermot.
And there is good evidence to suggest that higher education leads to higher earnings. Research commissioned by the Irish Universities Association estimated that, on average, Irish graduates earned between a fifth and a third more than similar non-graduates.
Read the full article on The Irish Times website.