Sir, – The Oireachtas committee meeting to discuss the closure of St Patrick’s College, Carlow, takes place this week. The staff and students, given our historical legacy and our ongoing commitment to liberal education in the southeast and across the country, look forward to these deliberations. The failure of the board and the management to secure the college’s future and the Department of Higher Education’s failure to assist when initially approached may be compounded by the failure to secure the college as a centre for liberal education. In its focus on utilitarian and profit-driven education, the department and the Government have overlooked that education is an end in itself, not just a means to employment or utility. A liberal education seeks intellectual excellence, training the mind to think clearly, reason logically and judge wisely, allowing better communication skills and leadership qualities, as evidenced by many of the college alumni. The life we lead today has been hollowed out by bureaucratic rationalisation and technological detachment. The closure of Carlow College and the loss of a centre for liberal education is just another example of this policy.Carlow College provides education to a diverse student population, many of whom would not be, or have not been, successful in other educational environments.Its value as a centre for the study of the humanities and social care in a non-competitive and caring institution dedicated to the personal growth and self-actualisation of each student is unrecognised and underappreciated by government and educational officials. Is the Government listening to the supporters of Carlow College? Have those supporters been consulted in this process? Why has this decision been presented as a fait accompli? We await the outcome of the Oireachtas deliberations and hope for a more enlightened resolution. – Yours, etc,SUSAN HANLY,Killeshin Road,Carlow.