‘Elitist’ remarks spark fury in colleges

MORE than two dozen academics have branded as “outrageous” the president of UCC’s comment that the pressure of providing access for disadvantaged students was triggering an exodus of top students to study abroad.

The price of widening third-level access was the inability of colleges to provide the best education for top students, Dr Michael Murphy said this week.

However in a letter in today’s Irish Examiner, the 25 academics said: “For the president of an Irish university to suggest, based on what he terms ‘extensive anecdotal evidence’ that there is a ‘requirement to re-balance’ resources currently used to improve third-level access so as to support the most talented students is outrageous.”

The academics come from the University of Limerick, UCD, UCC, NUI Maynooth, and NUIG.

Mr Murphy said the state was right to promote the expansion of third-level education over the past 15 years, with programmes to help students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, with disabilities and mature students.

However, he said universities’ ability to maximise the talents of the intellectually gifted has diminished because weaker students need more academic support from fewer staff.

“It has become unpopular, indeed politically incorrect, to voice concerns about the needs of academically talented students,” he said.

“There is extensive anecdotal evidence of many of our brightest students emigrating after completing Leaving Certificate for overseas education and never returning.”

But the academics, including Dave Hill, visiting professor of education policy and equality studies at UL, hit back at Dr Murphy, who is paid €232,151 a year — more than any other president of an Irish university.

“The Leaving Certificate, in which the purchasing of advantage through private tuition is increasingly the norm among the privileged, is already an uneven playing field for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and with disabilities,” they said.

Cork North Central Sinn Féin TD Jonathan O’Brien, who represents disadvantaged communities that benefited from improved access to third-level education, said Dr Murphy’s comments displayed “breath-taking arrogance”.

“The participation rate in third level on the northside is only 7%. Is Dr Murphy saying people from working class areas of the city should be permanently denied the opportunity to go on to third level?

“He might also want to look closer to home. With the highest salary of any university president, perhaps he should show leadership by taking a voluntary pay cut and ploughing the money saved back into the university.”