Two lecturers at Limerick Institute of Technology claim they have been bullied by the college management over their efforts to expose an exam cheating case which occurred last summer. The college has emphatically rejected the allegation.
Limerick branch members of the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) will meet today to discuss the appointment by the college of a former High Court Judge, Mr Rory O'Hanlon, as an inspector in the case. Branch officers and college management have to finalise the terms of reference of the inquiry and agree on who will see the eventual report.
The case involves the son of a college lecturer, but its handling by members of management has driven a wedge between them and the staff, who have been pressing for an independent inquiry since September.
Matters came to a head in December, when 136 out of 145 staff voted in favour of opting out of preparation of exams and model answers for this summer and autumn until a satisfactory agreement was reached on an inquiry.
Last June, independently of each other, Mr Peter Ronan and Mr Michael O'Connor, lecturers in the School of the Built Environment, were alerted to the possibility of the student cheating and, by chance, they compared notes.
They wrote to the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, in October, highlighting their concern for the institute's reputation. They stated they were being bullied and that their treatment by management was "bordering on the hostile".
Mr Michael O'Connell, the college secretary, has said that no complaints have been made with regard to bullying and that the lecturers have been commended for bringing the exam cheating case to light.
In letters to the director of the college, Mr Ronan cited a recent occurrence when he was refused leave of absence twice to attend a Shannon Information Society Partnership Project. A representative of the institute on the inter-agency project since 1998, he had never been refused leave of absence before.
The college director, Mr J.P. MacDonagh, gave no written explanation other than to say it was in Mr Ronan's "best interests, and in the best interests of the institute" that he should be relieved of any further involvement in the project.
Yesterday Mr O'Connell said that a subsequent appointment had been made, of an industrial services officer, Dr John Donovan, who was more suitable for the position.
Mr Ronan said his work on the review of a student's exam material had been called into question and was referred, without his knowledge, to an external academic who submitted a report to the institute criticising the work.
"This is extraordinary. It has never happened before. It is totally in breach of the National Council for Education Awards exam regulations," he said.
Mr O'Connell said the matter was resolved through the office of the registrar and approved by the institute's academic council.
The lecturers have also raised the cheating issue with the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, and the Minister of State for Education, Mr Willie O'Dea.
Dr Woods has declined to appoint an inspector or a Department official to examine the issue under Section 20 of the Regional Technical Colleges Act, saying in reply to a Dail question in October: "Matters relating to examinations are clearly a statutory function of the management and governing body of the institutes of technology".
Mr Ronan and Mr O'Connor have written to him saying that members of LIT management are guilty of "very serious misconduct" in their handling of the case. But Mr O'Connell said the "unprecedented step" of establishing an independent inquiry had been taken.
The second-year construction studies student has admitted gaining access to the papers, according to the college authorities. He received a "fail" when the case was exposed and he has been suspended from taking exams for two years.
The two lecturers recorded their dissension from the decision to suspend him from exams for two years. "The offence was of the most serious nature, being theft of our intellectual property and its fraudulent use for the purpose of gaining a certificate to which the candidate was not entitled," they stated.