UNIVERSITY heads have "hijacked" the debate on college legislation by making "spurious claims" that it would diminish their autonomy, the Union of Students in Ireland has claimed.
"Universities should be forced to justify themselves to the taxpayer in the same way as any other State funded body and it is about time that they were forced to meet certain standards in an open and transparent fashion", said USI's president, Mr Colm Keaveney.
He was speaking at the launch of USI's response to the proposed legislation, which calls for the university Seanad franchise to be extended to all universities and technical colleges.
USI also wants student representation in the Seanad and guarantees that students will be fully involved in university decisions.
In its response to the Minister for Education's proposals for legislation, the Irish Federation of University Teachers says it is wrong to give the president or provost of a college too much power.
IFUT says it has "no principled objection" to the presence of outsiders on the board of Trinity College, Dublin, but they should be selected by the board.
The submission also calls for legislative changes to allow theology to be taught in all universities; currently, this is prohibited by a 1908 Act in the colleges of the National University of Ireland.
Meanwhile, staff at the University of Limerick have handed in a petition to the Department of Education signed by 409 staff expressing "grave concern" about the proposals.
