As USI and TUI continue to push for better funding for higher education, Aurora Andrus talks to Kevin Donoghue of USI about the importance of funding education.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) have teamed up in an effort to campaign against the disintegration of publicly funded higher education in Ireland. A campaign called ‘I Value Higher Education’ has been put into motion giving students, family members and faculty the opportunity to sign the petition to keep funding for higher education.
State funding is crucial for Irish academics. Kevin Donoghue, USI President says: “State funding is so important because it is the most significant source of funding for third level in Ireland. It amounts for around 80 per cent of funding provided to third level institutions according to the 2015 OECD ‘education at a glance’ report. Even in countries where fees are higher, state funding is usually the biggest contributor. It would not be possible to educate people to third level without state funding. In countries where third level is tuition free it typically makes up a much higher proportion of overall funding for institutions as well.”
Third level institutions are well aware of the contributions the state makes overall to the education system. A further decrease in funding would impact education in Ireland to a higher extent. Without state funding, there is the chance that institutions would be unable to remain viable, resulting in restricted access to education for students. This would, in turn, cause the numbers of students per institution to rise.
“State funding is so important because it is the most significant source of funding for third level in Ireland.”
In 2008 the ratio was one staff member to every 16 students. In 2012 that number increased to 19 students per staff member. It can be expected that the ratio of students to staff will only continue to grow.
Currently in Ireland, seven Universities, 14 Institutes of Technology and several other institutes receive funding from the state. Among these, UCD ranks in the top 1 per cent of universities worldwide, ranking first in 12 subjects and within the top 100 for another nine subjects. The reputation of UCD along with others is important in terms of funding. Public funding has already been decreased by 32 per cent (over €428.3m) over the past seven years and further cuts could potentially sacrifice the quality of these institutions.
“Quality will definitely decrease if budgets are cut further,” Kevin Donoghue says. “Thankfully, even [the] government has recognised that further cuts are not possible. Numbers are unlikely to decrease. In fact we can expect a 30 per cent increase in numbers in the next 15 years according to data available, hence the crisis regarding funding.”
With education funding being cut so much, it is essential to ask: where is the money is going? “The money being taken from education and elsewhere is to address overspending,” Donoghue says. “Even this year we budgeted to spend €5 billion more than we were going to bring. It’s a fiscal adjustment.”
The Irish Universities Association (IUA) have estimated that there will be an enrolment of 146,834 undergraduate full-time students in 2016 in the seven universities. This number excludes those enrolled in other education institutions, such as ITs and colleges of further education. This number has increased over the last seven years and it is likely that numbers for some institutions will continue to grow. However, further funding cuts could have an impact on the number of students attending other further education institutions. Donoghue agrees with this. “Funding cuts may affect numbers. NUIG has repeatedly improved its number despite cuts while other universities fell. Rankings are not a great measure of how good your university actually is though. The assessment criteria rely too heavily on reputation and citation and less in teaching and learning practices.”
Current student tuition and fees have increased to €3,000 a year for full time undergraduates. The cost of tuition has been steadily increasing since 2011 and there is a chance that tuition will continue to grow. The student grant scheme helps students to afford the cost of third level education. However if third level fees continue to rise, will the student grant cover the price hike?
“Under the current system yes, fee increase would be covered by grants,” Donoghue says. “If the system was adjusted then it might make it more difficult for people to qualify. The real concern at the minute is that they want to change these systems to give less support to students.” A change in the student grant scheme would be a major issue for many. If the qualification process becomes more difficult there may be a decrease in enrolments.
Ireland is used as a place of headquarters for many big companies like Microsoft, Google, Hewlett Packard, Facebook and Paypal. More companies like Apple are working to establish new major hubs here in Ireland which would open up around 300 job opportunities. If Irish people are not receiving the level of further education to compete on an international basis, they won’t be eligible for these jobs and outsourcing will occur. In order for residents to work and thrive in the community they need the proper education. According to IUA, 83 per cent of the workforce have a degree. As a society, a growth in this number will be nothing but beneficial.
“In 2008 the ratio was one staff member to every 16 students. In 2012 that number increased to 19 students per staff member.”
With the Irish general elections quickly approaching the community needs to come together to support the ‘I Value Higher Education’ petition. By signing the petition it is letting the candidates know that students, faculty and families are making a stand. The fight against the erosion of state funding and safeguarding the future of further education is crucial.
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