Shake-up of college governing bodies needed, says ESG

THE governing bodies of third-level colleges are not flexible enough and should be made smaller but with more business representation, the Enterprise Strategy Group recommends.

A central outcome of its deliberations on skills, education and training was the need to create a higher education sector which could adapt more easily to meeting the economy’s skills needs.

The group’s report found the structures and management of higher education were “no longer adequate” to meet the complex demands of society in general, and enterprise in particular. It described governing bodies as too large to permit flexibility and responsiveness. The group recommended they be reduced in size and that the enterprise sector play an increased role.

“Restructuring, in conjunction with enterprise representation, could bring external expertise and experience to bear in areas that directly reflect the challenges facing the institutions,” the report said.

Higher Education Authority chairman Dr Don Thornhill welcomed the central role of third level education and research in Government policy identified by the report. He agreed there was a need for smaller governing authorities for colleges, with greater involvement by external stakeholders.

“As our higher education institutions become an increasingly essential part of our national infrastructure, it becomes all the more essential that they are effectively and strategically operated. Current governing authorities are not best structured to achieve such a result,” Dr Thornhill said.

Another radical recommendation of the strategy group was that public funding for third level colleges should be partly based on performance, although the kind of outputs which might be measured were not outlined.

The report proposed that targets for educational and training performance should include increasing the proportion of students graduating from second level education and facilitating access to higher education for a wider share of the population. The drop-out rate from second level was currently at 17% but the report recommended efforts to increase the Leaving Certificate completion rate to 90%.

For those who did not achieve this, the strategy group suggested that training be provided for a range of occupations, through new work-study programmes.

They would be relevant to the needs of the labour market and provide qualifications equivalent to Leaving Certificate standard.

The group proposed a ‘One Step Up’ initiative to continually upgrade people’s skills and qualifications. It suggested particular attention should be paid to those with low levels of qualification and in low-level occupations, who were least likely to receive sufficient access to learning opportunities.

The strategy group, whose members included Trinity College Dublin provost Professor John Hegarty and Institute of Technology Blanchardstown director Dr Mary Meaney also recommended increasing the proportion of graduates in Ireland. It called for the establishment of a competitive, innovation fund to encourage third level institutions to further exploit knowledge and deliver innovative services to enterprise.