Third-level colleges will in future have to compete against one another for much-needed additional funding under a new Government grant scheme to replace a return of third-level fees, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor.
The Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, said yesterday a return to college fees, proposed by the OECD last year, was off the agenda and instead the Government would introduce a new multi-million euro fund for higher education to be earned by the colleges.
Under the new "pro-business agenda" for higher education, colleges will be rewarded for cost-cutting and other changes by receiving additional income over and above the regular grants.
The precise amount to be made available by the Government will not be decided until the Estimates later this year. But senior university figures last night said a fund of over €70 million annually would be required.
In a major policy statement on third level yesterday, Ms Hanafin said the return of tuition fees for undergraduate students was "off the agenda". The return of fees was the main recommendation of last year's landmark OECD review of the third-level sector in the Republic.
The OECD said a quantum leap in funding was necessary to push the State's third-level sector into the top international league.
While refusing to back fees, the Government hopes the new fund will modernise the sector, while providing much-needed additional funding. Under the plan, the universities and the institutes of technology will from next year compete for allocations from the reform fund. The Higher Education Authority will establish detailed criteria for awards under the fund.
Colleges will be asked to submit their plans and they will be "rewarded" for various changes including:
Internal restructuring and streamlining efforts.
Teaching and learning reforms.
Promoting wider access for lower socio-economic groups.
Providing improved management information systems.
Providing improved management performance systems.
Demonstrating that real and clear benefits will derive from the proposals.
The new reform or Strategic Innovation Fund could also reward colleges which meet overall economic needs by providing more graduates in disciplines such as science and technology. By some estimates, the Republic will need over 300,000 skilled graduates in the period to 2010.
The establishment of the reform fund comes at a time when several university presidents are attempting to impose radical reform. UCD has recently backed proposals which will see the number of academic departments and faculties cut by some 50 per cent, as part of a streamlining process. Similar reform plans are under way at UCC and Trinity, where they have met stiff resistance from staff.
The new fund was welcomed by both Dr Hugh Brady, president of UCD, and the provost of TCD, Dr John Hegarty. Dr Brady stressed, however, that the fund would need to invest hundreds of millions in order to bring teaching and learning in Irish universities to top international standards. The universities hope that the new fund will be like the competitive process for research funding which has delivered over €700 million to higher education over the past decade.
The Government's support for the OECD approach is certain to face criticism from some academics. Some fear that arts and humanities could lose out, if colleges believe the new reform fund favours science and technology.
Last night, Ms Hanafin said the new fund would promote and encourage radical reform in the third-level sector. The amount of funding available would, she said, be dictated by the quality and quantity of the proposals coming from the colleges themselves.
