A major change in the management of third-level education was signalled yesterday with new legislation which brings the institutes of technology under the control of the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
The new Institutes of Technology Bill, published by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin yesterday, will create a unified framework for higher education. For the first time, the 14 institutes and seven universities will come under the control of the one body, the HEA.
At present, the institutes are managed by the Department of Education. The HEA currently has responsibility for universities only.
The Bill will also extend significant new managerial and academic autonomy to the institutes of technology, aimed at facilitating further development of their roles.
In the past, there has been some criticism that the department's control of the institutes did not give them the freedom they need to realise their full potential. The landmark OECD report on third-level education recommended greater freedom and autonomy for the institutes.
The Minister said the new legislation will allow for a cohesive approach to the strategic development of higher education, drawing on the diverse strengths of all of our universities and institutes. "This legislation is a major milestone for the sector. It will empower our institutes of technology with the managerial freedoms and supports that they require as they enter into their next phase of development."
Commenting on the Bill, chairman of the council of directors Jim Devine said: "Publication of this Bill is recognition by the Government of the critical role the institutes play in the delivery of world-class, third-level education and their ability to respond quickly and efficiently to meet national and regional economic and social needs.
"The institutes look forward to meeting the challenges and opportunities they will face in a new third- and fourth-level environment when the Bill is enacted. I hope that the Bill will have a swift passage through the Oireachtas so that the new operating arrangements will be in place from January 1st, 2007."
Ms Hanafin said yesterday: "The institutes of technology have been a major success story in Irish education. By opening up new opportunities for access right around the country, they have been central to the dramatic growth that has been achieved in third-level participation over the past 20 years. This has been a major factor in our current economic success.
"At a regional level, the institutes have been catalysts for economic development around the country by actively responding to the skills needs of local industry and forging industry partnerships for research and the transfer of knowledge."
There are now over 90,000 full-time and part-time students pursuing studies in the institutes of technology.
These programmes range from sub-degree level right through to PhD studies. The new legislation will apply to the 13 institutes established under the RTC Acts, and to the Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland's largest third-level institution.