The dispute which kept 25 students in Galway from being allowed to enrol in an occupational therapy course has been resolved. Kathryn Holmquist, Education Correspondent, reports.
In a joint statement last night, the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland and NUI Galway stated that a programme leading to a BSc in Occupational Therapy had begun at NUI Galway and that the process of accreditation was now in train.
The students have been taking basic science courses at NUI Galway while awaiting resolution of the dispute.
Formal approval of the course has not yet been granted by the AOTI. However, the university and the AOTI have "committed themselves to a process which will lead to such approval".
The students were offered the course through the CAO in August. NUI Galway had listed it even though it had not been officially approved by the AOTI. On August 27th, the AOTI announced that it would not approve the course. The students discovered this only a week ago.
Fine Gael TD Mr Pat Breen said he was "delighted" that an end to the dispute was in sight. He called on all third-level institutions and the relevant accrediting bodies to work closely together to ensure that this type of problem did not recur.