Making higher education count politically

One of the obvious observations one can make regarding higher education in Ireland is that it has not turned heads, politically. The actions of all senior politicians have suggested that they do not fear a political backlash from voters if they are seen to be attacking universities and colleges. This is almost certainly a correct judgement, and it demonstrates that the sector has not been good at making its case to the general public.

However, if we are to stablise the system and make it sustainable, and if we are to succeed in securing a reasonable and predictable framework of funding, then we need to assemble a coherent message that will attract public support. We also need to be willing to make higher education an election issue. In the context it is interesting to observe the very active approach of the UK journal Times Higher Education to the current general election campaign there. In particular the journal has used its presence on Twitter to push higher education issues, and it has sponsored a debate between senior politicians from the main parties.

We need to become politically more active in Ireland. Rather than having to react constantly to the speeches and initiatives of politicians, we need to develop a sector-wide campaign pro-actively to develop higher education, to make the resourcing issues more widely understood to a wider public, to identify issues that require reform and to initiate the process that will produce such reform, and to prompt and lead public debate on research and development. We must stop being victims and start having a political impact.

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