A chara, - There appears to be an absurd contradiction in the objectives of different Government departments. The recent White Paper on Science and Technology argues that we should be encouraging innovation and development in the technological educational sector, but the Department of Education, in granting Institute of Technology status to Waterford RTC and not to Cork RTC, is placing a lid on that development. Given the emphasis on efficiency in the Partnership 2000 proposal, it would appear that the Government would want to take a leaf out of its own book.
If Institute of Technology status is to be granted on educational criteria, as ought logically to be the case, then on paper Cork RTC clearly deserves it. But perhaps there is method in the madness behind the Minister's decision. Does it, in fact, reveal shrewd political judgment? In order to evaluate this Ministerial move, we ought, I suggest, to shift our gaze away from education and on to voting patterns in the Waterford area in the next election. - Yours, etc.,
Tableaux Networks,
Cork's Institute of Technology.