DkIT seeking higher student awards

March 2008

DUNDALK is among fourteen institutes of technology demanding their graduates get university qualifications.

The college joins Waterford and Dublin looking for an upgrade in status.

The government is already under fierce political and public pressure to cave in to demands from Waterford for university designation.

The other institutes say the present situation is not sustainable and change is needed.

IT presidents believe the only options for the government are, simply rename the institutes as universities, bring in new arrangements between the institutes and existing universities, create a new federal or central university for the institutes.

Most presidents favour the third option of a federal Technological University of Ireland, with the institutes designated as constituent colleges.

DkIT president Denis Cummins signs a statement from his counterparts, seeking an upgrade in status.

The statement warns that a battle between the agencies of the State and institutions over irrelevant divisions in higher education is not in anyone’s interests.

However, such a battle may well be on the cards, as some senior university sources insist it would not be a good idea to upgrade so many institutions.

‘We already have seven universities for a country of over four million people,’ one source points out.

‘Institute staff are not obliged to do research, whereas university academics are.

‘ The danger is that resources would be spread too thin, and we would have difficulty sustaining worthwhile centres of excellence.’

The government has to decide shortly if Waterford’s case should be considered under Section 9 of the Universities’ Act.