Tuition fees – who can join the debate?
Today’s Irish Times has an opinion piece by the Education spokesperson of the Fine Gael party, Brian Hayes TD, on higher education funding. In this he repeats the Fine Gael policy of providing additional funding for the sector through special PRSI contributions from university graduates. It’s a thoughtful piece, and overall the proposals he makes are reasonable. Furthermore, as he suggests himself, this is probably going to be not a million miles away from the proposal being made by the Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe TD, that there should be a framework of student loans (probably based in part on the Australian system).
In the circumstances we now face, all of this is probably the best way to go, and I suspect there will be broad support from the university sector. However, there is a need for discussions around the details, some of which will be significant. For example, how will the framework be administered? How will the system overcome the obvious problem that those who in fairness most need to make a contribution (graduates who leave the country on graduation) will not make one? What will be the net effect on higher education institutions – i.e. to what extent will the system actually inject more funds into the sector? How will the funds be ringfenced?
The great weakness in all of this right now is that nobody is talking about any of this to the universities and colleges. Even Brian Hayes is proposing discussions between the opposition and the government, without apparently feeling there is any need to involve the institutions that are both affected by this and can advise most clearly on the implications. It is time to treat the sector as a partner, and to engage with it accordingly.
Tags: tuition fees, Batt O'Keeffe, Fine Gael, Brian Hayes, student loans
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July 9, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Between this and the week’s other big education story, of the HEA/Department of Finance interference in how the universities spend their money, I’m pretty much in a state of despair at the moment about our higher education system. Emigration is starting to look like a more and more attractive option, not just for new graduates, but for their lecturers too…
July 9, 2009 at 5:31 pm
“Even Brian Hayes is proposing discussions between the opposition and the government, without apparently feeling there is any need to involve the institutions that are both affected by this and can advise most clearly on the implications.”
Ring him up and ask him to lunch.
July 9, 2009 at 7:02 pm
And you would have to say it is one sure and certain method that none from a Council estate ever reads Arts again. Which more or less axes all from such addresses simply because there is not a Maths or Science Grad of any bloody use who will go within an asses roar of schools these people go. And this in an economic climate where the only hope of employment is via Third level.
What we will end up with is the same stupid political mess that Howard and brain dead liberals in Oz came up with, the worst of every world. And typical of thinking 40 years out of date.
July 10, 2009 at 9:09 am
My remark about lunch above might have seemed a bit flippant, but this is a smalla nd rather informal country where its relatively easy to approach people if you have an interest. So what are you doing, other than going to organised meetings with HEA and of course this blog, to get your / DCU’s thoughts into decision amkers circulation?
July 10, 2009 at 9:31 am
Don’t worry, Otto – it’s not a flippant remark. And it’s the sort of thing I do all the time (including with Brian Hayes). But there is also a more formal side to this, and the universities and colleges should be directly involved.
July 11, 2009 at 5:05 am
The Irish Times today seems to imply that a central ’selling point’ for the new graduate loan will be getting rid of the up-front Student Registration charge. Which would seem to be another step towards removing universities’ autonomous income streams.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/0711/1224250466444.html
July 11, 2009 at 1:58 pm
This will depend on how the whole funding system is structured in this new system. Unlike the Irish Times, we haven’t seen the full proposals. But the registration charge hasn’t helped us much anyway.