O’Keeffe: Fees may be needed to support less well-off

EDUCATION Minister Batt O’Keeffe believes it is fair to consider the possibility of high-earning families paying for their children to attend college in order to help the less well-off achieve the same.

The minister suggested he had raised the question regarding the reintroduction of third-level fees as part of a national debate on the funding of higher education.

“I expected, in the early days of the debate, to have the usual opposition cries with no forethought and no rational arguments in terms of what we should plan ahead for,” Mr O’Keeffe said as he congratulated students collecting their Leaving Certificate results at Ballincollig Community School near his own home.

The minister, who is beginning work on the country’s first national strategy to determine how third-level education is delivered over the next 20 years, said funding has to be a feature of the considerations.

“I’m looking at a society now where there are no fees; a society where there are extremely high earners who are not contributing to students entering third level. I’m asking those people to play a part and I will be putting these sentiments to government,” he said.

The minister has rejected claims from higher education chiefs, who he will meet next month, that the sector has been under-funded in recent years, insisting instead that funding has increased by 25% since 2005 to €2 billion.

He has, however, recently ordered all colleges to cut their pay bills by 3% this year, although the details of where the cuts are to be made have not yet emerged.

“The taxpayer is contributing €332 million by way of tuition fees to third level and it behoves me to look at exactly how we’re going to move forward and fund it,” Mr O’Keeffe said.

The minister went on to defend his decision to ask the Comptroller and Auditor General to examine the value the State receives for the higher education budget, which will likely include close scrutiny of some colleges, the time spent by academics on teaching, and whether funds targeted at disadvantaged students are being spent appropriately.

“There has been a major improvement in the number of people in third level from the less well-off sectors of society, but I’m obviously not satisfied with that. I see the introduction of some form of fees in the future as helping me ensure a greater support service is available in those communities,” the minister said.

But the institute of technology sector described the fees debate started by Mr O’Keeffe as a calculated distraction from the severe impact on students of spending cuts he has directed.

“They will have a negative impact on the range and number of programmes available and we’re particularly concerned that they will have a disproportionate impact on undergraduate students, particularly the disadvantaged students who must be educated to the highest standards to drive change in our rapidly evolving open economy,” said Institutes of Technology Ireland chairwoman Marion Coy.

She added that the group’s dismay at the increase in student registration fees by €75 to €900 this year, claiming that 75% of the increase will be clawed back by the Department of Education.