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RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- General
- RTÉ News
Do Irish students feel schools are helping them master computer skills?
Analysis: How young people use technology will determine their futures so schools, teachers, parents and families all have a role to play By Míde Griffin, Trinity College Dublin We all know teens on TikTok are good at technology, but there's more to digital skills than swiping like a pro on a smartphone. Children must be actively taught how to use computers, for studying, working, and navigating the internet safely. But do young people in Ireland believe school is helping them learn those skills or not? Recent research uses data from the Growing Up in Ireland study to answer this. This long-running research interviewed 9-year-olds, their parents, teachers and principals in 2007. They followed up again at ages 13 and 17. The study shows that three-in-four 17-year-olds felt that secondary school was at least some help in learning computer skills. This isn't bad, but it does leave one-in-four students who believe school was "no help" in this regard. Given the importance of these 21st century competencies for young peoples' futures, it's important to know who is saying that school helps digital skills development and who says it doesn't. From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, calls for more computing skills to be taught in Irish schools Computer facilities at school Perhaps students' views on school computer learning depends on their school's computer facilities? However, the study finds that the quantity and quality of computer facilities in schools didn't seem to matter, though students who were taking computer studies aged 13 were significantly more likely to say that school had helped them learn. Having dedicated computer classes unsurprisingly helps pupils build these critical skills. What about technology outside of school? Maybe computer whizzkids at home are bringing those skills into the classroom and others get left behind? The study shows those with no home computer aged 9 were more likely to believe school had provided computer skills aged 17, compared to those who had a home computer. It also matters how they used it. Using the internet for 'fun' made children less positive about school computer learning, but using it for 'school projects' made them more positive about how much they built these skills at school. On the other hand, using the internet too much is probably not helpful. Children who had symptoms of ' excessive internet use ' were less likely to say school helped them learn computer skills, which could be because of behavioural problems impacting learning attitudes. From RTÉ Radio 1's News At One in 2021, Dr Vivienne Patterson from the HEA on a new report, which shows that computing courses have the highest drop out rate at third-level Does family backgound matter? Family background certainly matters. Students from less educated and lower socio-economic status families were more positive in their perception that school provides computer skills. This is good because previous research shows that students from worse-off backgrounds often report lower computer confidence than those who are better-off. Other research suggests that parents with less education and lower incomes may struggle to manage their children's online activity. The positive finding in this study could be because students who have fewer technology and/or other resources at home benefit more from computer learning in school. Together with other results in the study, this seems to suggest that the Irish education system has not done a bad job in terms of reducing the "digital divide" between more and less privileged students. 17-year-olds who had gone to schools serving a population with lower-socio economic status ("DEIS" schools) were no less likely to say school provided computer skills, and there was no difference between private (fee-charging) schools and public ones either. DEIS schools get additional resources, including for technology, which seems to be helping to level the playing field. What about the type of school? Students in vocational and community schools were significantly more likely to say school has contributed to their computer learning. This makes sense as the Leaving Cert Applied and the Leaving Cert Vocational Programme focus more on practical and career-oriented skills, although differences between school types have lessened over time. Interestingly, school gender mix appears to matter for how students feel about learning computer skills. Girls in girls' schools were more likely to say school helped them learn about computers compared to boys in boys' schools or those in mixed schools. This is on top of the fact that girls were more positive in general about school's benefit in computer skills. This also accounts for how positive a person is about school's role in teaching other skills, and their personality traits. From RTÉ Archives, Dympna Moroney reports for RTÉ News in 2002 on a secondary school in Limerick making information technology a key part of students' studies. So why might girls, especially those in girls' schools, say they benefit more from school in their computer skills development? Previous research shows girls have more positive attitudes to computer learning than boys, but girls underestimate their actual skill. It could be that girls in girls' schools experience less " stereotype threat". That is, girls mightn't be as impacted by negative gender stereotypes about computers when there are no boys around. Or it might be that girls have different aspirations or expectations around computer learning due to societal gender norms. More research could look at why this is happening and encourage more girls into tech, the highest paid sector in Ireland on average. Children don't lick computer skills up off the ground - or off the touchscreen for that matter A drawback of the study is the data on 17-year-olds is from 2015, already a decade ago. Technology changes quickly and traditional surveys are designed for quality, not speed. A different approach might be needed to keep up with young people's views today. Children don't lick computer skills up off the ground - or off the touchscreen for that matter. Mere access to technology, either at school or at home, only takes them so far. How young people use technology will determine their futures, so school and teachers, parents and families, and the norms we create as a society all play a role in shaping that future.
Forbes
24-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
These 4 Student Loan Provisions Of The ‘Big, Beautiful Bill' Take Effect Now
US President Donald Trump holds up his signed signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts "Big ... More Beautiful Bill" on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on July 4, 2025. The bill includes major changes to federal student loan programs, some of which will take effect immediately. (Photo by Alex Brandon / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEX BRANDON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) POOL/AFP via Getty Images Several student loan provisions of the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' – the massive reconciliation legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month – will go into effect immediately or very soon, according to the Department of Education. The bill makes unprecedented changes to the federal student loan system by repealing several popular income-driven repayment plans, creating a new repayment option, and cutting or eliminating certain federal student loan programs. While many of these changes will be phased in gradually over the course of the next one to three years, some of the reforms legally take immediate effect. And the department is working on speedy implementation. 'On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) (OBBB) into law,' said the department in a 'Dear Colleague' letter issued last Friday. 'The OBBB contains numerous provisions that amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) and impact the administration of Title IV , HEA programs. Many of the changes under the OBBB will be implemented on July 1, 2026 and over the subsequent years. However, several changes made by the OBBB became effective upon enactment.' Here's a breakdown of the most immediate changes to federal student loan forgiveness and repayment programs. One of the immediate changes to student loan programs under the Big, Beautiful Bill is the removal of the Partial Financial Hardship requirement, or PFH, for the Income-Based Repayment plan. IBR is the only current income-driven repayment plan that is preserved under the bill; ICR, PAYE, and the SAVE plan will eventually be repealed. But IBR has an enrollment barrier in the form of the PFH rule, which essentially prevents borrowers from accessing IBR if their income is too high. More specifically, it blocks IBR enrollment for borrowers if their calculated IBR payment would be higher than what they would otherwise pay under a 10-year Standard repayment plan. The removal of the PFH rule for IBR is immediate. However, it will take the Department of Education and its contracted loan servicers at least some time to update its systems to reflect the removal of the PFH requirement. 'The OBBB eliminates the requirement that borrowers have a partial financial hardship to qualify for enrollment in an income-based repayment (IBR) plan authorized under section 493C of the HEA,' says the department in the Dear Colleague letter. 'This change is effective upon enactment and the Department is currently working with its student loan servicers to remove the partial financial hardship eligibility requirement from the IBR enrollment process.' New Student Loan Repayment Option For Parent PLUS Borrowers Another major change under the bill is that Parent PLUS borrowers who have already consolidated their loans by July 1, 2026 will be able to access the IBR plan. Under current law, Parent PLUS borrowers are ineligible for any income-driven repayment plan option unless they consolidate those loans into a Direct consolidation loan, at which point they would become eligible only for the ICR plan, which is more expensive than any other income-driven option. ICR will be phased out under the Big, Beautiful Bill, but these borrowers will be able to instead enroll in the IBR plan. Not only is IBR generally more affordable than ICR, but it also will allow Parent PLUS borrowers to be able to pursue eventual student loan forgiveness, including through Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF. The change is effective immediately, according to the department. 'The OBBB allows borrowers with a consolidation loan that repaid a Parent PLUS Loan to enroll in an IBR plan effective upon enactment,' says the Dear Colleague letter. 'The Secretary will provide additional information to its federal loan servicers and update the website when the system is available to enable such borrowers to enroll in IBR.' Importantly, Parent PLUS borrowers must consolidate their loans through the Direct loan program by July 1, 2026 in order to be able to access IBR. Otherwise, these borrowers will be completely cut off from any income-driven repayment option and associated student loan forgiveness pathways, including through PSLF. RAP Will Qualify For Student Loan Forgivenes Through PSLF While the ICR, PAYE, and SAVE plans will be repealed, the Big, Beautiful Bill creates a new income-driven repayment plan called the Repayment Assistance Plan, or RAP. RAP uses a different formula than the current income-driven options. For many borrowers, RAP will be more affordable than the older version of IBR for those who took out student loans prior to July 1, 2014, but much more expensive than the SAVE plan. RAP also stretches out the repayment term to 30 years before a borrower can qualify for student loan forgiveness, but the plan also includes a principal and interest subsidy for those whose payments aren't high enough to cover monthly interest accrual. RAP isn't yet available, but the department is expected to launch the new plan no later than July 1, 2026. And the department indicated that it is working to make RAP available much sooner than that. Once it is launched, RAP will be a qualifying repayment plan for borrowers pursuing student loan forgiveness through PSLF, effective immediately. 'The OBBB amends the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to allow for payments made under the newly created Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) to count toward loan forgiveness, if all other eligibility criteria are met,' says the Dear Colleague letter. 'The RAP was created by the OBBB and will be in effect no later than July 1, 2026. This PSLF provision is effective upon enactment, meaning that whenever the Department launches the RAP program, borrowers will be able to immediately get credit for PSLF under RAP.' Biden-Era Student Loan Forgiveness Rules Are Paused Immediately The Big, Beautiful Bill suspends Biden-era regulations governing two student loan forgiveness programs. The Borrower Defense to Repayment program allows borrowers to request a discharge of their federal student loans if their school engaged in certain kinds of misconduct, such as misrepresenting key statistics about admissions selectivity or employment prospects. The Closed School Discharge program allows borrowers to apply for relief if their school closed while they were enrolled, preventing them from completing their degree. The Biden administration enacted new regulations for both of these programs to make it easier for borrowers to qualify for loan forgiveness. But the Big, Beautiful Bill pauses these new regulations for 10 years. That doesn't mean that the programs themselves are fully repealed. But it leaves in place earlier versions of the regulations enacted under the first Trump administration that aren't nearly as favorable to borrowers. The Department of Education confirmed in its Dear Colleague letter that the pause takes immediate effect, which means the earlier Trump-era regulations governing these programs are now in place. 'The previous Trump Administration's Borrower Defense to Repayment regulations that were effective beginning July 1, 2020, will be effective as if the regulations were never amended during the Biden Administration for loans originated before July 1, 2035,' says the letter. 'This provision is effective upon enactment and the Department will publish a Federal Register notice shortly that restores the regulations that were in effect on July 1, 2020.' Additional Changes To Student Loan Programs Are Coming The Big, Beautiful Bill ensures that additional changes to federal student loan programs will occur over the course of the next several years, although those reforms are not immediate. Starting in July 2026, borrowers who take out new federal student loans or consolidate existing loans will lose access to the IBR plan, and their only repayment plan options will be RAP or a Standard plan (new Parent PLUS borrowers will only be able to access the Standard plan). And by July 1, 2028, the department will phase out the ICR, PAYE, and SAVE plans, and borrowers who want to remain on track for eventual student loan forgiveness under IDR or PSLF will need to switch to either the IBR plan or RAP. Many observers expect the department to phase out these plans (especially SAVE) well before 2028.
Irish Examiner
17-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Universities to halve points needed from HPAT assessment to study medicine
Universities are significantly reducing the importance of the health professions admission test (HPAT) required for studying medicine, refocusing instead on Leaving Cert results. The changes, which halves the HPAT assessment from 300 to 150 points, will be introduced from 2027. Leaving Cert scores above 550 will also no longer be moderated. This means that the maximum combined points for medicine will be 775, made up of 625 Leaving Cert points, and 150 HPAT points. This is down from the current maximum of 865 points, made up of 565 Leaving Cert points and 300 HPAT points. The HPAT was first introduced in 2009 in light of concerns that entry to medicine was being restricted to 'top' Leaving Cert performers, effectively excluding students who may have the necessary interpersonal skills and empathy making them ideal doctors. While it was originally intended to help broaden access to the study of medicine in Ireland, in recent years, the HPAT has faced criticism. A number of private operators now offer preparation courses, which can cost as much as €675 for a 10-week course. However, universities now say that the Leaving Cert results have proven to be a "stronger predictor" of performance in medical degree programmes. They also point to the increased number of medical places, as well as Disability Access Route to Education (DARE) and Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) schemes, which they say have resulted in "broader and more diverse cohorts of medical students". By 2026, more than 200 extra places will be available across all undergrad medicine programmes, including through a new programme opening at the University of Limerick. Universities also point to the revised Leaving Certificate grading scale and points scale introduced in 2017, which they say has resulted in significant changes in overall points profiles across the Leaving Certificate cohort. The last data from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) indicates that a very small proportion of disadvantaged students study medicine. It found in 2020 just under 4% of graduates came from a 'disadvantaged' background, compared to 35% who come from 'affluent' backgrounds. The incoming changes will apply to all Irish and EU students seeking entry to undergraduate medicine programmes from 2027. Students will still be required to sit the HPAT in the same year as entry to the medicine course. Read More Beyond the exam hall: Reclaiming the purpose of Irish education
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
First They Bought Entire Neighborhoods – Now Wall Street Is Coming For The Equity In Your Neighbor's Home
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Wall Street's move into single-family housing made national headlines just a few years like Blackstone and Invitation Homes were on a buying spree, snapping up tens of thousands of homes and building large-scale rental portfolios. Entire communities were developed specifically to rent, not own. It was one of the biggest shifts in the U.S. housing market in decades, and it priced out plenty of would-be homeowners in the process. That frenzy has cooled. But the capital hasn't gone far. Now, instead of buying the house, institutional investors are buying the upside. They're targeting the equity inside owner-occupied homes. This new strategy doesn't involve tenants or any property management. Just a stake in future home appreciation. The instrument making this possible is called a Home Equity Agreement (HEA).It gives homeowners a lump sum of cash in exchange for a share of the home's future value when it sells. Unlike a home equity line of credit (HELOC), there's no debt, monthly payment or interest rate. That model has gained traction fast, especially with firms looking for real estate exposure without operational drag. Companies like Barclays, KKR, Nomura, Carlyle Group and others have invested billions of dollars into securitizations backed by HEAs. These securitizations have given large investors a new pipeline into U.S. residential equity. The structure of HEAs is designed to give investors returns that outperform the actual price movement of the home. This is achieved through an equity exchange rate. In simple terms, if the home's value increases by 3% annually, investors can realize annual returns of 15% or more. And while appreciation is the obvious draw, the downside protection is quietly just as important. If home prices fall, the same exchange rate provides a buffer that allows investors to still come out ahead with positive gains. All of this is happening against the backdrop of one of the biggest pools of wealth in the country; $35 trillion in U.S. home equity. Most of it is sitting idle and untapped. It was only a matter of time before institutional investors created a new opportunity out of this market. HEAs weren't structured for individuals, and the funds buying them weren't open to the public. However, that's beginning to change. , a fintech-backed platform, is opening the door through its U.S. Home Equity Fund (HEF). The private fund that allows accredited investors to participate in a diversified portfolio of HEAs. The fund invests in home equity in some of the most stable housing markets across the U.S. and has achieved a 17% IRR on its realized investments since inception. The single-family rental boom may have dominated the past decade, but home equity is next. Wall Street has already moved in. Now, with the right access point, individual investors can follow. Image: Shutterstock This article First They Bought Entire Neighborhoods – Now Wall Street Is Coming For The Equity In Your Neighbor's Home originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
GMA Network
03-06-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Senators seek increase in PhilHealth's anti-rabies coverage
Two senators asked the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to increase its package for anti-rabies vaccination amid the rising rabies cases. In a hearing on Tuesday, Senator Bong Go said some patients might have hesitation about availing of anti-rabies shots because of the costs. 'Baka ang mga kababayan natin sa takot ayaw na magpa-injection dahil mahal ang babayaran. Lalo na pag talagang positibo na kailangan nila magpa-inject. Baka maaring taasan nyo ang inyong coverage para hindi matakot ang ating mga kababayan na magpa-injection at magpa-gamot dahil may PhilHealth na masasandalan nila,' said Go, chairperson of the Senate Committe on Health. (Perhaps our countrymen are scared of the injection because the fees are expensive. There really is a need for vaccination, especially when they test positive. Perhaps there can be an increase in coverage so that our countrymen would no longer be scared of vaccination and treatment because they can depend on PhilHealth.) 'Ang bilis, ang bilis niyan. Hindi yan pwedeng sandali…. Dapat punta kaagad sa hospital, punta kaagad sa health center, check-up kaagad. At kung kailangan magpa-injection, injection kaagad. Dapat tumugon kaagad ang gobyerno dahil buhay po rito ang nakataya dito,' he added. (It's so fast. They can't delay… You would have to immediately head to a hospital or to a health center for a check-up. If you need an injection, you need to be vaccinated right away. The government has to respond right away because there are lives at stake.) In an advisory in March 2025, PhilHealth noted that its current Animal Bite Package covers P5,850 for vaccinations. Some hospitals offer free vaccinations for humans, while local government offices also offer free vaccinations for pets. Senator Raffy Tulfo said that local government units must allot a budget for anti-rabies vaccinations for both animals and humans. Two rabies deaths occurred within a month —a man who died nine months after the bite and a woman who was bitten two months ago. The two did not avail themselves of anti-rabies shots. In 2024, the DOH reported a total of 426 rabies-related deaths and emphasized the need for pet vaccinations and increased rabies awareness. Meanwhile, Go also asked the Department of Budget and Management to settle the Health Emergency Allowance (HEA) payouts of health workers. 'Unahin niyo bayaran ang mga appeals ng health emergency allowances. Yung mga health workers natin na nagsakripisyo at nakipagpatayan sa atin ng panahon ng pandemya. Kung totoo naman na pinaghirapan nila at pinagtrabahuan nila, sana gawan nyo po ito ng paraan,' he said. (Prioritize paying the appeals of health emergency allowances. Our health workers have sacrificed and faced the frontlines for us during the pandemic. If it is true that they have worked for this, I hope something could be done.) 'Services rendered po yan, pinagpawisan po yan, pinaghirapan po yan ng ating mga health workers. Sila po ang hero ng pandemya. Di natin mararating ito kung hindi dahil sa kanila. Ibigay po what is due,' he continued. (These are rendered services, toiled with sweat and hard work by our health workers. They are the heroes of the pandemic. We will not be able to get here without them. Give them what is due.)—LDF, GMA Integrated News
