Madam, - The article by the heads of UCD and TCD and your Editorial of the same day were fascinating for what was not said. Absent from both was any mention of fees - truly the elephant in the room! The OECD report of 2004, cited in your Editorial, indicated that the introduction of fees could form part of a mixed approach (alongside public investment) to university funding and would be in line with international trends. The case of Scotland, mentioned in both pieces, is interesting.
The Scottish government has just announced the abolition of the
graduate endowment (a one-off payment of £2,500) which means
that Scottish and EU students studying in Scotland will pay nothing
for their higher education. However, the Scottish universities have
spent the last year pleading with the SNP-led Scottish government
(with modest success) to increase public support for higher
education, as they fear the increasing gap between their
institutions and those in England, which receive the receipts of
fees charged at £3000 a year per undergraduate, will lead to a
flow of researcher talent south of their border. At least one
Scottish university is openly considering becoming entirely
independent of the (Scottish) government. Choosing comparative
models to make a political point is often a tricky business.-
Yours, etc,
Prof BOB OSBORNE,
University of Ulster,
Newtownabbey,
Co Antrim.
Madam, - I read with interest the Opinion column contributed jointly by the president of UCD and the provost of Trinity College, supported by your second Editorial (March 18th). But the style and content were depressing.
The heading ". . .invest now. . . or pay later" set the tone. This was followed by the tired cliches of management-speak. We had "funding deficit", "global benchmarks", "strategy process" and "delivering both quality and quantity in the face of intense international competition".
Thankfully, the authors stopped short of talking about the education product in the global market place, but this is clearly their mind-set.
There are, of course, valid points made. Student/staff radios are too high - as could also be said by every primary and secondary school in the country! The operating budgets have been eroded. The Minister could and should look at solutions which have worked elsewhere, for example, fee payments (which many can afford) integrated with taxation, or long-term student loans.
Equally, there are assumptions which should be challenged. Who decided what is "world class"? On what criteria are "international rankings" drawn up? Universities reflect such great varieties of history and environment that it is doubtful whether any overall comparison has much validity.
A visitor seeing Trinity College's lavish new buildings (their donors' names prominently advertised on the public street), and experiencing the full marketing impact of the Book of Kells might assume the college was wealthy. He would be wrong - but could not donors' money be now directed to improving teaching ratios, rightly seen as a priority?
The authors speak of "a quiet revolution in the shape and structure of. . . teaching" and of how "modern management systems have been adopted to support these innovations". In fact, these changes provoked considerable opposition and resentment in both colleges.
Given that present economic trends make large-scale increases in
direct State aid unlikely, even unjustified, the writers should
perhaps rethink how their priorities may best be achieved and -
dare I suggest - act and write more like the president/provost of a
university, and less like the CEO of a business corporation or
bank. - Yours, etc,
Dr STEPHEN BARCROFT,
Puckane,
Nenagh,
Co Tipperary.
Madam, - The UCD president, Dr Hugh Brady, and the TCD provost, Dr John Hegarty, are by no means alarmist in pointing out to the Irish public the consequences of underfunding in our universities. But leadership has to come from the top. Their arguments would be more convincing if they themselves were to take a salary cut of, say, €43,000.
In this way they would be seen to share in the financial
hardships and uncertainties of their staff. Until and unless they
do so they will lack the moral authority to speak out with
conviction on this matter. It would be like the Taoiseach telling
us to "tighten our belts". - Yours, etc,
GERALD MORGAN,
School of English,
Trinity College,
Dublin 2.