Madam, – Unlike Ferdinand von Prondzynski (Education Today, January 26th), I cannot feel that abolishing “part of the essence of Ireland” is “the right thing” to do. An institution that runs like a thread through the past century of Irish history should not be abolished lightly. Certainly the National University of Ireland is a somewhat illogical, antiquated and perhaps even inefficient institution. So too is the University of Oxford (astoundingly illogical, antiquated and inefficient on occasion), and yet this has not held it back as a centre of higher learning.
I do agree with the professor, however, that Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe has gone about making this decision in a poor fashion. So sudden has the announcement been that many questions remain unanswered. What, for instance, will happen to the many scholarship funds which the NUI currently manages? These include travelling scholarships that allow Irish students research at the best universities around the world. I hope the Government does not intend, yet again, to save some money in the short term at the expense of the future education of its citizens. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The proposed abolition of the NUI means there can be no NUI panel for the Seanad, no NUI to compile the register of graduate electors, and thus no NUI senators. Legislative change to accommodate this state of affairs will be required. Now is the time to grasp the broader nettle of Seanad reform and I would welcome an announcement from the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, of his timetable to present the required legislation before Cabinet and before the Oireachtas for approval.
Otherwise new graduates from soon to be former NUI-recognised institutions will not be able to vote, just as happened with St Patrick’s, Drumcondra and Mary Immaculate, Limerick when they moved from under the NUI’s umbrella.
Those who suggest this change will have a substantive negative impact on the prospects of graduates and somehow devalue their degrees are seeking to scaremonger at a time when job prospects are poor. The value of the NUI is and always has rested in the quality of its graduates and staff, not in the mere name of the NUI. The reality is that the vast majority of graduates refer to themselves as alumni of their own particular college whether UCD, UCC, UCG or Maynooth. That need not and should not change. – Yours, etc,