Enrolment ban at school of music over funding concerns

FUNDING concerns have led to a temporary ban on the enrolment of new pupils at the €60 million Cork School of Music.

The school opened last year after a long campaign for government investment.

School management has been told by its bosses at Cork Institute of Technology that it is not to offer enrolment to any new part-time students for next autumn until a staffing review is completed in the coming weeks. The embargo also applies to places for existing students who wish to continue their courses in September.

The school has more than 100 full-time degree students but also has 3,500 part-time students who are pupils at primary and second-level schools around the city and county. Because of the one-to-one teaching used in most music classes, there are fears that staff cuts could result at school of music from the review of pay efficiencies across CIT.

The delay in offering places may also cause difficulties as prospective pupils would normally be assessed around this time of year for courses due to begin in the autumn.

A non-pay funding review is also taking place as CIT seeks to redress a budget deficit understood to be about €4m.

The college applied to Education Minister Mary Hanafin last month to be given university status, stressing it would not stray from its core mission.

A spokesperson for the Teachers’ Union of Ireland, which represents staff at CIT and Cork School of Music, said they would not accept any changes in that mission, which has always included having school-aged students at the school of music.

Cork School of Music director Geoffrey Spratt last night that he could not comment on the situation.

A CIT spokeswoman said the college is engaging in normal planning for courses next year, including potential new courses.

“This is being done within the context of the constraints in the college’s budgets. We expect everything to be clarified by May,” she said.

Cork School of Music opened its €60m city centre new home last September after a long battle to overcome delays caused by planning, funding and EU restrictions.

It was built under a Public Private Partnership, giving the school state-of-the-art facilities and access to full-time technicians for its 56 Steinway pianos and leading-edge recording studios.