Lecturers warn over college reforms

COLLEGE lecturers will only introduce reforms if changes being discussed with the Department of Education are acceptable to them, a union leader has said.

The National Strategy for Higher Education published on Tuesday stressed that reforms, efficiencies and other cost reducing measures will only having a relatively minor effect, with the biggest impact on the sector coming from increased investment, mostly from some form of student fees. But Ms Coughlan stressed internal reforms and improvements, including those facilitated by the Croke Park agreement, will be essential to any overall changes.

Teachers’ Union of Ireland president Bernie Ruane said when members rejected the Croke Park deal last summer, people had not been made fully aware of how bad the public finances were, but the union has reviewed its position since. The union represents thousands of lecturers in institutes of technology.