USI slam misleading estimate increases

AngelofFire

DISAPPOINTMENT WITH
MISLEADING ESTIMATE INCREASES


19 November 2004

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) today expressed disappointment with the expenditure proposed for the third-level education sector in 2005 in yesterday’s estimates. The union was also critical of Minister Hanafin’s announcement that these supposed increases will enable the implementation of recommendations from the recent OECD into third-level education in Ireland.

In response to these estimates and as part of an ongoing-campaign looking for significant increases in education funding USI is organising a protest march to the Dáil before budget day.

USI President Ben Archibald said: "This is a magician's estimates, promising extra money but delivering less in real terms. Whilst there will be a 9% increase overall, in reality it is yet another cutback that will leave many third level institutions in a state of crisis. The universities will be hardest hit, with the 6% increase doing little or nothing to ease the problems caused by the severe cutbacks imposed by the Government over the past two years. Support services, which are crucial for the retention of students, will yet again suffer with many schemes that aid access to the third level sector forced to being abandoned."

USI Education Officer Heledd Fychan said: "For far too long, we have heard the Department of Education talk about increasing but in reality little of any note has been achieved in this area. Whilst in one sense investment appears to be increasing, in real terms the estimates indicate once again a cut to student support services and a lack of provision for extending the grants system (both of which are crucial in order to increase access). Further, it reinforces the government’s strategy of turning education into a business commodity with blatant disregard given to its social and cultural importance."

The prospect of Minister Hanafin now pressing on with the implementation of the OECD report as a blueprint for the future is a cause for concern. Given that the report itself is full of contradictions and that no formal mechanism for consultation on its content has been put in place, USI are urging the Minister to reconsider this statement and allow all interested parties the democratic right to respond to its content.

"The Minister’s desire to reward colleges engaging in reforms, in particular those relation to the performance-led agenda of the OECD report is a worrying development and we urge minister to be cautious in pursuing such a model."

http://www.usi.ie/usi/asp/section.asp?s=226

Once again this so called ''socialist'' government has failed to deliver in areas of the public realm that need funding the most. We are the 2nd richest country in Europe yet our spending on education as percentage of GNP is one of the lowest in the OECD area, as a matter of fact we`re behind mexico. The OECD report is not the way to go, it crippled the education system in australia, saddling students with massive debts thus dettering people from entering 3rd level. A radical change in spending policy with regards to education is needed. Other issues also need to be addressed, a year and a half ago the BTEA was slashed from 12.5 million to 5 million