THIRD-LEVEL colleges are facing an unprecedented financial crisis as they struggle to cope with an additional 55,000 students over the next decade, according to an internal report by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
The HEA report says an investment of over €4 billion will be required to upgrade dilapidated buildings and provide space for a 30 per cent surge in student numbers. But it concedes such investment is “highly unlikely” in the current climate.
The scale of the financial challenge set out in the report will increase pressure on the Government to reconsider the return of tuition fees. The revised programme for government ruled out fees during the lifetime of this administration.
But university heads say they cannot deliver a “world-class” system and drive economic revival without new investment.
The report, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, highlights the scale of the infrastructural deficit across higher education. Its main findings include:
40 per cent of college buildings are “seriously inadequate” and “not of a standard that is appropriate to internationally competitive, 21st-century education”;
60 per cent of buildings at Dublin City University and 50 per cent of those at UCD and UL require replacement or major repair;
Over 41 per cent of all space is over 25 years old and some 20 per cent is over 50 years old;
Student numbers will increase by 30 per cent (55,000) over the next decade according to the Department of Education and Skills.
The report says the €4 billion investment is required for a major repair and replacement programme – as well as to cater for the surge in student numbers. But it signals the third-level sector cannot cope without vastly increased investment.
Many third-level colleges, including UCD and UCC, have substantial accumulated debts. UCD, with a debt of over €12 million, has a vigorous cost-cutting programme.
A series of Government reports, including the Innovation Task Force and a smart economy document, identified the universities as playing a key role in economic regeneration.
But the HEA report indicates the higher education system will be unable to deliver on the objectives without sustained new investment.
The HEA report has been passed to the National Strategy Group for Higher Education. The group, chaired by economist Dr Colin Hunt, will report in June. It is widely expected the Hunt report will support the call for a return of fees.
The HEA report also outlines the dramatic increase in student enrolment. The number of full-time students will increase by 15 per cent between now and 2012/2013, while the number of part-time students will increase by 10,000, or 30 per cent, over the same period.
This year, CAO applications are at record levels as some 70 per cent of students proceed towards college.