THE FINANCIAL base of Irish universities is being undermined by decisions on fees and reductions in State funding, Dublin City University president Prof Ferdinand von Prondzynski said yesterday.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony, Prof von Prondzynski – a long-time critic of the Department of Education – said decision-makers did not appear to understand the role of universities in a modern country.
He said efforts by Irish third-level institutions to promote the value of research had been undermined by the McCarthy report, which questioned the usefulness of spending in this area.
Over recent months Irish universities, he said, had made major advances in global rankings; there were now five in the top 300 universities in the world. However, just as this was happening they were coming under threat at home, and some of the key elements that had produced these gains were now under threat.
His remarks come amid increasing concern across the university sector about possible cuts to research funding in next month’s budget.
The university heads were dismayed by the Government’s recent decision to abandon plans to introduce a student loan scheme. With the Government seeking some €400 million in education cuts, research funding could be vulnerable.
The DCU president believes responsibility for the management of higher education should be taken from the Department of Education, whose main focus, he says, is on responding to the needs of schools and teachers.
Yesterday, Prof von Prondzynski also suggested there was evidence that the autonomy of universities was being undermined. “These developments go to the heart of what allows our universities to offer quality and to support Ireland’s bid to escape from recession.
“If we downgrade our universities, undermine their financial viability, cut their research and control them centrally, they will cease to be a magnet for international investment in Ireland. Ireland’s drive to recover prosperity and growth will not succeed so easily,” he said.
“All of this is taking place because it seems that some key decision-makers and opinion formers don’t understand the role of universities in a modern country; but perhaps this is also the universities’ fault in not explaining this well enough and demonstrating its truth.”
