The Institute of Technology, Sligo welcomes the publication of a new expert group report on the future funding of higher education in Ireland.
‘Investing for higher education: a strategy for funding higher education’ was published by a government-commissioned advisory group, chaired by Peter Cassells, the former general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
It was launched on Monday by the Minister for Education & Skills, Richard Bruton T.D.
The report’s authors were charged with identifying the issues relating to the long term sustainable funding of the third level sector and proposing options for change.
The report concludes that the current funding model is unsustainable. An extra €1 billion is required in day-to-day spending to restore the cuts the sector has faced since the economic downturn.
Because of Ireland’s growing population, the Cassells report calculates that the higher education sector will need to provide 212,000 college places by 2025 just to maintain today’s participation rate. That is an increase of 28 per cent on today’s numbers.
The report sets out three main options to increase funding:
- A State-funded system which abolishes the current college fee of €3000
- Increased State funding with the €3000 fees being maintained
- Increased State funding and a loans scheme, where graduates would pay back the costs of their tuition. This would involve the scrapping of the payments and the introduction of loans for fees of up to €5000 each year. The loans would be paid back by graduates when they earn a certain income.
The President of IT Sligo, Professor Vincent Cunnane described the report as a well-thought out and researched document, which sets out a range of scenarios for future funding. However, he stressed that any new funding model must ensure that access to Higher Education remains the main priority.
“These scenarios will demand further debate and explanation,” said Prof Cunnane.
“From a regional perspective, it is vital that any new funding scheme for higher education serves to increase access, not limit it. IT Sligo will seek to ensure that that the existing student grants scheme (SUSI) is maintained and allowed to grow.
“72 per cent of IT Sligo’s current students are first generation third level students. They come from families with no tradition of accessing higher education. 64 per cent of the IT Sligo student population accesses SUSI student grants.”
Professor Cunnane says any new funding system for Higher Education must ensure that access opportunities are protected and enhanced. “It is vital that the Government ensures that there are affordable opportunities for our particular student population to access third level education. This includes the thousands of families who may fall outside the eligibility criteria for grant assistance, but for whom, meeting the costs of higher education is extremely difficult.”
The Higher Education Authority (HEA) has announced that it will conduct a full review into the way it funds third-level institutions on foot of a recommendation by the expert group report on the future funding of higher education.
Read the report in full here.