In a significant move, the president of Dublin City University (DCU) has said responsibility for the third-level sector should be taken away from the Department of Education and given to a dedicated higher education minister.
The call by Prof Ferdinand von Prondzynski reflects growing unease across the third-level sector about the lack of overall planning and vision for the seven universities.
In a note to graduates, the DCU president says a higher education minister and a separate department is now necessary to meet the challenges facing the sector.
He writes: "Higher education has become both much more important than it used to be, and much more complex, and it needs close attention at the most senior levels in government."
Referring to the planned multi-billion investment in third-level, he says: "It is my view that this vital agenda should not be overseen within a government department in which it is in competition with the equally vital developmental needs of primary, secondary and pre-school education.
"At this stage of Ireland's national development, it makes sense that higher education has its own separate seat at the cabinet table. This will help ensure that we can successfully develop an innovation culture that is able to draw on high levels of knowledge and skill, research-driven expertise, successful entrepreneurship and a stable and equitable society."
At present, responsibility for third level is shared between the Department of Education and the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which manages the sector.
The third-level sector looks to the department to develop policy but many senior university figures believe the third-level agenda is crowded out by the more pressing - and politically sensitive - demands of primary and second level.
In third-level circles, the department is often casually referred to as "the department for teachers and schools" by some.
The DCU president outlines the key developments at third-level and postgraduate or fourth level.
These include:
• the new Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation, which will require a strong and sustained growth in university-led research and is closely linked with the prospect for high-value foreign direct investment;
• the plan for further significant growth in participation in third-level education, which will require investment in teaching and learning infrastructure;
• the development of successful entrepreneurship and the growth of indigenous firms in Ireland, which will depend on the capacity of universities and other colleges to commercialise their research and stimulate both commercial and social enterprise.
Prof von Prondzynski says this agenda cannot be successfully pursued "unless it is championed by a dedicated senior minister".
