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Why is Northern Ireland ignored in your editorial identifying the fees dilemma for devolved institutions in Wales and Scotland arising from the white paper ("England's plans test the strength of devolution", THES , March 21)?

Although technically devolution was suspended last October, Northern Ireland had already introduced bursaries of ?1,500 a year,rising to ?2,000 a year this September. We abolished school league tables in 2001. Northern Ireland also has to take into account developments in the Irish Republic as well as the UK in terms of large student migration flows.

Bob Osborne
University of Ulster