A CONSULTANTS' report has strongly criticised the costs if the National Council for Education Awards (NCEA), which validates most non university third level qualifications. The report, commissioned by the Higher Education Authority, has been passed to the Minister.
The report, by management consultants KPMG, criticises the cost effectiveness of the NCEA's services and funding arrangements, concluding that "significant" savings could be made in the NCEA's services to the regional technical colleges and the other institutions it serves.
The NCEA's four principal services are the validation of new courses; the provision of external examiners; the award of certificates, diplomas and degrees; and the review of the institutions in its jurisdiction. In recent years the RTCs are known to have been unhappy about the NCEA's charges for these services.
Department of Education sources said yesterday KPMG had found that the NCEA had been charging too much.
The Department sources emphasised that there had been, changes in the NCEA's council and senior management in the past year, and the recent Teastas report projected more structural changes in the future.