EDUCATION:CHINA'S SUCCESS in higher education should serve as both a warning and an example to Ireland, according to the chief executive of the Higher Education Authority, Tom Boland.
In a paper to be delivered to the Parnell Summer School today, Mr Boland points to China as an example of how a country can achieve extraordinary results in participation levels, investment and structural change in a short space of time. He says the number of higher education graduates in China has quadrupled in the past six years, evidence that Beijing was seriously focused on becoming a global powerhouse of research and learning.
Ireland should not delay in making its "Great Leap Forward" in higher education, he adds.
Mr Boland also points out that government investment in higher education has tripled in China between 1997 and 2004 and that through a series of mergers and rationalisations, the number of higher education institutions has been reduced from 597 to 267.
One in seven students - 350,000 people - studying abroad is Chinese.
A significant number of higher education links between Ireland and China supported by the HEA and the universities and institutes of technology have been developed in recent years.
Meanwhile, yesterday, Dr John Walsh of TCD said Séan Lemass's commitment to the expansion of the educational system "provided the essential context for the radical reform of second-level education initiated by Donogh O'Malley in September 1966".
On July 7th, 1966, Lemass told the Dáil that the future economic development of the country would depend on enhancing the level of education and training secured by the Irish workforce.
Dr Walsh noted that "the introduction of free post-primary education was being considered by the department well before O'Malley's appointment as minister for education."
At a meeting with Lemass on September 7th, 1966, O'Malley first proposed the introduction of some form of free education.
On September 10th, Mr O'Malley announced that the State would introduce free post-primary education to Intermediate Certificate level in September 1967. He did so without any consultation with the Department of Finance or the government as a whole.
Dr Walsh said O'Malley's claim he acted with covert approval of Lemass in making the announcement "lacks credibility".