Educational deficit - We cannot ignore these warnings

TWO or three years ago anyone who dared suggest we had too many of our eggs in one basket or even hinted that the good times could not last was all but ostracised as a traitor.

The option was suspend your critical faculties, blindly sing the company song or shut up.

Now that we are in, or at least very close to, recession those who urged caution are entitled to feel vindicated. But have we learnt the lesson? Are we prepared to listen to critical voices? It seems not.

We have been sold the promise of a future built around a knowledge-based economy. However, there are consistent voices suggesting that our educational system is not capable of delivering that vision.

Third-level institutions’ failure to secure premiership ratings in international league tables confirms we have a long way to go and unless we improve, our aspirations will prove as delusional as the suggestion that our economy could continue to perform at stellar levels.

Another voice raised concerns yesterday and pointed out that we are losing some of our brightest minds because we have not created permanent research positions. Séamus Puirséil, the recently retired chief executive of the Higher Education and Training Awards Council has warned that while the state has invested heavily in science, graduates are finding full-time research roles difficult to secure. Mr Puirséil argues adequate provision has not been made for permanent research positions.

Many of these people, the people this country educated to drive our knowledge-based salvation, emigrate to where they are more appreciated. It goes without saying that we cannot afford this exodus.

Our attitude to research is seen at its most insular in our lack of participation in the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) based near Geneva.

Twenty European governments are involved in CERN projects but not ours. This organisation is involved in the most profound work, including the next generation of the super-fast internet but we have not involved ourselves.

These concerns were augmented yesterday when the director-general of FÁS, Roddy Molloy, reported to a Dáil committee that the number of apprentices employed in construction is down 55% compared with last year. He said the number of registrations by employers for apprentices in the eight months to the end of May is down 36% over 2007.

So there you have it all in one set of figures. The collapse of the construction sector and the consequent lack of education or career opportunities.

All of these arguments can stand on their own but we are aware of our overcrowded and underfunded first and second-level schools. We are also aware that scores of third-level lecturing jobs are being cut.

Add to these arguments the reality of our broadband service and it gets even more depressing.

Broadband is central to a grown-up economy’s communications infrastructure and a way to overcome geographical isolation. The inadequacies of our service, its high cost, low speed, and its limited availability in less populated areas are a handicap we have endured for far too long. These are all failures of management, management that failed to deliver during the good times. It is very difficult to see how that management can deliver services or even survive the “savings” proposed on the foot of decimated tax returns.

Optimism is a wonderful thing and without it we would not have achieved what we have but there comes a point when optimism becomes delusion.

We have long ago passed that point with our economy and our building sector. Let us hope it is not too late to make the changes so vital to our educational system. If it is too late we are in real trouble.