THE VIEWS expressed by the UCD president and the provost of Trinity College on page 11 today should serve as a reality check to Government Ministers and policy makers. There has been much rhetoric in recent years about Irish universities helping to drive a so-called "knowledge society". But the article by Dr Hugh Brady and Dr John Hegarty paints a different picture of life on the university campus in 2008. It is a depressing one. Funding for the core teaching function is less than half that available in comparable other states; the student/staff ratio is much higher and the physical infrastructure is creaking. Most of the seven universities are now in deficit as financial cuts bite.
In all the circumstances, the sector deserves credit for the progress achieved in recent years. Participation rates have increased dramatically, the number of PhDs has doubled while archaic academic structures have been overhauled and modernised to a significant extent. Our universities are more efficient and accountable and quality remains high.
But none of this obviates the need to address the deepening funding crisis. And it is not a new phenomenon. A 2004 report from the OECD - and virtually every review since - has pointed to the need for a quantum leap in financial support to allow universities here compete on equal terms with those abroad. What is clear is that the Government cannot have it both ways; it cannot demand "world class" and "leading-edge" excellence without providing adequate resources for the task.
What should be done now? The first step, as outlined in today's article, is to acknowledge "that there is a funding crisis at third level that needs to be addressed in the national interest". It is critical that we begin a national debate at this time, as Minister for Education Mary Hanafin finalises her plan for a new strategy for higher education. This review will achieve little if it is based on the current budgetary framework and seeks to work within it; something more radical is required.
The review must accept a core principle outlined by the two university leaders. Education, they write, is the key to our future, and investment in it will pay dividends. The Government is correct to assert that the university sector has the potential to help lead the drive towards a knowledge society but that is dependent on it receiving the kind of funding that universities in the likes of Scotland and Denmark take for granted. Lower level investment will see Irish universities slip further behind their international competitors. That is not good enough.