Students due to enrol in a Dublin college tomorrow learned last night that it is to be closed by the Department of Education after they finish their course.
The congregation of Dominican Sisters have expressed dismay at the suddenness with which they were informed that St Catherine's College for Home Economics, Sion Hill, Blackrock, is to close.
Students already enrolled in St Catherine's will be allowed to complete their home economics course in the college. The class entering tomorrow, will be the last to be admitted to the college, which has 100 students.
"Distress and anxiety" had been caused by the surprise issuing of a press release yesterday by the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, announcing the closure, the sisters stated.
The Minister stated that St Angela's College, Sligo, will become the sole centre for the training of home economics teachers.
"The trustees are shocked at the suddenness of the decision and the manner in which it was communicated to them," said Sister Helen O'Dwyer, region prioress. "The first indication of the impending closure was received in a telephone call to our education office late on Friday evening when all relevant personnel was no longer available, informing us that a letter was in the post and the Minister was issuing a press release."
The trustees had recently invested a further substantial amount of money in upgrading and refurbishing the residential wing of St Catherine's College, because they believed that the college was making "excellent and satisfactory progress".
The investment of €1.5 million by the Department in the school in the past few years had led the trustees to believe that St Catherine's College would not be closed, although it did know that the college was under review by the Department.
Mr Dempsey decided to close the teacher training college because, he said, the Department of Education needed to secure value for money and a better allocation of resources.
The closure was also part of a plan to "restrict public service numbers in a time of financial constraint", he said.
The number of teacher training places for home economics will not be reduced after the consolidation of the provision of training in St Angela's College, Sligo, the Department stated last night.
The intake of students in St Angela's will be increased from September, 2004, to accommodate this.