free school lunches and paying for third level education

I was talking to a parent from the UK last week....who was complaining the her child school dinner was going up to £1.60 which is about 2 euro...for this the child gets a main meal of meat fish or a vegetarian option with rice past or potatoes..... vegetable ...fresh salad and fresh fruit a dessert and a drink..she was amazed that we had to pay for school books and were asked for money by the school......however later i was talking to one of my sisters who is a teacher who made the point that we have no third level fees in this country but they do in the uk which in her opinion maybe balances things out.....

So which would you rather have...free or very nearly free primary and secondary school but have to pay for third level or our system...me i am not so sure which i would like because fees of £3500 fees for third level sound very bad to me

cynder

mariaalice wrote: »

I was talking to a parent from the UK last week....who was complaining the her child school dinner was going up to £1.60 which is about 2 euro...for this the child gets a main meal of meat fish or a vegetarian option with rice past or potatoes..... vegetable ...fresh salad and fresh fruit a dessert and a drink..she was amazed that we had to pay for school books and were asked for money by the school......however later i was talking to one of my sisters who is a teacher who made the point that we have no third level fees in this country but they do in the uk which in her opinion maybe balances things out.....

So which would you rather have...free or very nearly free primary and secondary school but have to pay for third level or our system...me i am not so sure which i would like because fees of £3500 fees for third level sound very bad to me

I availed of school dinners and also had a swimming pool in the school, we also had 3 big playgrounds and kitted out gyms and a green area along with long jump and high jumps, football and basketball courts. No homework we didn't have to carry school bags as school provided books.

I moved to Ireland at 8 and what a shock to the system!

loved the English primary school, hated the 3 irish ones.
I never ate the lunch at primary school in ireland i survived on taytoes and a bar, so i was as skinny as a rake.

http://www.gig-mill.dudley.gov.uk/#


The way things are going we might end up paying all the way including college.

thesimpsons

I'd prefer the english system - or the french one which I believe is also free. Don't know about rest of europe. By 3rd level time students do have an option of a student loan or working through the summers to assist in paying for fees. While we don't officiallly have fees here in Ireland, the registration fee has jumped up considerably every year - 1600 for my nephew plus another few hundred for an admin fee.

yungwan

Do they have free education at 2nd level too in England? No books etc?

Yeah I dunno, its a catch 22 for me, but I would say I prefer it the way it is.

Although my son is only in 1st class and I understand that things will get more and more expensive for him, his school has a book loan scheme so we only have to buy copy books and workbooks, about €50. And uniforms for primary are reasonably cheap too.

As for school dinners, do most UK kids not hate their school dinners? I hear they often get pure crap food to eat (cheap etc). Id prefer to pack a healthy lunch for my son, and know what hes eating (he is diabetic)

Full time 3rd level is very good value in Ireland in my opinion. €1500 registration fee is expensive, but when you compare this to what other countries (UK, US) pay for 3rd level, there is no comparison. Also, our primary education has always been considered to be of a higher standard than UK system, all my British cousins always comment on this and say that Irish children are much more intelligent than UK ones.

So yeah, id keep it the same tbh.

littlebug

Free school dinners sounds good in theory if the food is healthy.

when I went to Uni the situation was the other way around ie fees here and none in the UK (I think... hazy memory:o it's a while ago) so it could all have turned around again by the time ours go to college.

cynder

yungwan wrote: »

As for school dinners, do most UK kids not hate their school dinners? I hear they often get pure crap food to eat (cheap etc). Id prefer to pack a healthy lunch for my son, and know what hes eating (he is diabetic)

.

Yep, diabetics seem to have healthier lunches and are the only ones allowed to have coke and lucozade at school along with having snack in class when they are low and a bottle of water on the table for when they are high.

You have to know what he is eating when his insulin dependent, its easier if his on mixtard, but has to keep meals at same time daily, a bit more freedom with novo rapid/lantus and you can add an extra unit/s of insulin if needs be or if carb counting with insulin-carb ratio and then you have to know exacly how much the child eats or the insulin could be too much or too little.



I loved my school dinners.

moldypeach

I went to school in England, books are provided right through primary and secondary school.
School dinners are free for people on welfare and roughly 10 pounds a week for everyone else, but we also had the pack lunch option or going home for dinner.

Universities do charge in England but i think IT's and colleges don't. Fees are roughly 3000-4000 per term, the student can get a loan for this and pay it back when they are in full time employment with a good wage.

Also uniforms in England are generic at most schools, places like Asda and Tesco do deals where you can buy a whole uniform for under 20 pounds.

I certainly got a few shocks over here when it came down to sending my little girl to school for the first time.

kelle

We don't pay third level fees in Scotlald.

My work colleague is (unflatteringly called) a non-national, has 2 sons at college and has to pay fees. And they are astronomical! Recently, he had to pay fees of €7500+year's accommodation costs of €6500= a whopping €14000 just like that!!!! And that was for one son. I didn't compose myself to ask him how much he had to pay for his other son.

And I would say very confidently as Irish people we will all be paying the same fees when our children start college.

silverharp

at least its not America where they get breakfast pizza :pac: . More interested in having qualified math teachers etc then whether they get free food or not

The issue about school meals is a small one its more about how much parents pay for education in this country...as for teachers being qualified to teach their subjects i would take that as a give....the school my daughter attends is a highly academic girls school and i have never had a problem with the quality of the teaching she has received....my big bugbear has always being the cost of it all....but like most people i just put up with it!

Twee.

The problem with "free" third level education is that most colleges are severely lacking in facilities and funding. Fine if you go to UCD/NUIG, a big uni, they get funding, but I attend a small IT that is obscenely underfunded. The college has taken on more and more students each year without the expansion of facilities. Barely a students' union, tiny canteen, a hilarious amount of computers and desks in the library.
I would rather pay large fees and at least get proper facilities/study work space, and not let them raise the "registration" fee each year. A mate of mine attends a college in Florida, and sure his fees are astronomical, but the course comes with a high spec lap top as standard, and his specific course has industry standard equipment available to all students.
Student loans are probably the only way to go, or else we'll be left starting college funds before kids are even born. And why shouldn't kids pay for the education once they're working? Free ride over

Jo King

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Moonbeam

kelle wrote: »

We don't pay third level fees in Scotlald.

My work colleague is (unflatteringly called) a non-national, has 2 sons at college and has to pay fees. And they are astronomical! Recently, he had to pay fees of €7500+year's accommodation costs of €6500= a whopping €14000 just like that!!!! And that was for one son. I didn't compose myself to ask him how much he had to pay for his other son.

And I would say very confidently as Irish people we will all be paying the same fees when our children start college.

fees in scotland for an undergrad degree for UK and EU students are fixed as 1735 but there is a type of grant available to some students to pay this.
I also remember reading in the indo that they do not charge fees to irish students but am not sure as some sources cite that they do and others that they do not.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/education/third-level-education/studying-abroad/studying-in-the-uk-including-northern-ireland


At the moment I think fees with a proper loan system and pay back structure would be a lot better then raising the capitation fee again.That would put all kids on an equal grounding going to college and not leave it only for the rich who can pay and the poor that get it paid for them.

Ayla

I went to university in the States 10 years ago :eek: and the tuition alone was $30,000 per school year. Room & board was about $7,500, and then we paid for books (usually averaged $500/semester). The school & its facilities was top-rate.

Now, my family never could have afforded this but I received scholarships based on merit (ie: good grades). If I fell below a certain grade I lost the scholarship & my stay at that school would've been done. I got one scholarship from the school itself (paid for Room, boards & books), and another scholarship from my dad's employers...he worked for a big company who offered this bonus to their longer-term employees.

My point with this being, if introducing higher-level school fees would ensure the best facilities for our students, why can't the gov't also encourage companies to start scholarship programs? Surely it could be used as a tax incentive and/or a way to recruit future employees (we pay for your education, you work for us for x years when you get out)