NCEA threatens legal action over report

THE National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA) has threatened to take legal action if the full version of a highly critical report into its operations is published by the Higher Education Authority.

The council says a recommendation in the interim report on staffing structures in the NCEA could damage the good name of some individuals if the report is published.

A HEA meeting held last week to consider the report resolved that a number of changes and deletions be made before a final report is published.

The report, by consultants KPMG, concludes that the NCEA is not effective, efficient or cost effective. The organisation has lost its sense of purpose and direction, it says. It does not provide value for money to education institutions in general, or the RTCs in particular.

A council spokeswoman yesterday declined to comment on the findings apart from pointing out the interim status of the report.

The consultants call for an immediate and complete re evaluation of the role of the NCEA in higher education. They suggest that fees paid by publicly funded institutions, such as the RTCs, are subsidising the services provided to private and overseas colleges. The level of service to private colleges is estimated at more than twice that provided to publicly funded Irish institutions.

However, in a written response to KPMG last July, the NCEA rejected the findings, describing them as "fundamentally flawed". The council argued that the recommendations were based on a misleading interpretation and use of accounting data and concepts.

The NCEA was set up in 1972 to validate courses and grant educational awards in third level institutions outside the universities. As higher education expanded, the number of awards it makes has risen; last year, almost 12,000 students received a diploma, certificate or degree award.

In recent years, it has become increasingly involved with colleges in the private sector and overseas. Last year, 22 out of 42 NCEA designated colleges were in the private sector.

According to the report, services involving direct contact with Irish institutions now account for only 36.5 per cent of spending. Last year, the NCEA carried out no institutional reviews in Ireland but four overseas. No new institutions were designated in 1995.

The report says that between £750,000 and £800,000 could be saved on the council's income of £2,064,000. The NCEA has a staff of 24.

An analysis reveals that £179,000, or more than 10 per cent of annual spending, was spent last year on public relations; this included £21,500 on press releases, £36,000 on cultural events and £90,000 on conferences and exhibitions.

The report says there is a high level of dissatisfaction in the colleges with the management and direction of NCEA. The exams fees are too high and funds are wasted on non essential activities, it said.