“Batt O’Keeffe, the education minister, will recommend the abolition of free college fees in a report to cabinet this week. He will present five funding options to his colleagues, but will recommend an Australian-style deferred-loan system to shift the cost of college education from parents to students. Ministers are unlikely to take a final decision this week, postponing it until the cabinet meeting in September. Officials suggest the model favoured by O’Keeffe is a student loan repayable when a graduate reaches a certain income …” (more)
[Stephen O’Brien, Sunday Times, 4 July]