Third-level fees - Call to debate issue welcomed

Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe has called for a national debate on the funding of the third-level sector.

He initiated the debate himself by suggesting it might be time to reintroduce third-level fees, but he seems to be backing off that idea, or at least playing it down, after stirring up a veritable hornets’ nest.

Mr O’Keeffe emphasised that the Government views third-level education as the fulcrum for the future growth of the economy. Moreover, he was at pains to stress that pupils receiving their Leaving Certificate results yesterday would not be facing university fees this autumn.

In calling for a debate on the whole area of third-level funding, he indicated he was not necessarily advocating any definite policy in advance of the debate. Academic leaders have been voicing concerns about the structuring of third-level management and those concerns deserve to be taken seriously to ensure that the provision of proper education is the real purpose.

Many believe the introduction of “free” secondary education in the late 1960s set the foundation for the economic boom that has become known as the Celtic Tiger economy. But in recent years stealth fees are being reintroduced in secondary education in different ways, as parents are being called on to raise extra funds for the upkeep of schools.

It is patently dishonest to pretend otherwise. The same is already happening at third level with the rise in the registration fee by €75 for this year. The Government is saving money by cutting back on its subvention in this area.

There is no such thing as a “free lunch”. Somebody always has to pay and this debate is really about who is going to pay.

There is undoubtedly a lot of waste in the management of education, just as in the health service. Both are top heavy with health executives who don’t provide health care and teachers who don’t teach. This needs to be tackled, so Mr O’Keeffe’s call for a full debate is commendable.

He said he hopes to look at the whole lecturing profile in terms of value for money. “I want to make sure that the senior people in our universities who are the most professional, have the greatest experience and who can make a valuable contribution to the students are actually in the classroom from time to time,” emphasised Mr O’Keeffe.

He is asking the Comptroller and Auditor General, the State spending watchdog, to focus on areas to investigate if taxpayers are getting value for the €2 billion spent annually on third-level education.

Mr O’Keeffe’s initiative should be warmly welcomed, provided it is a determined effort to cut waste, not merely another form of the usual bureaucratic prescription of setting up a committee to examine the problems.