The Government's decision to establish a new multi-million euro reform fund for the third-level sector has been widely welcomed. It is a sensible move which will give the third-level sector an incentive to change and innovate along the lines proposed in the landmark OECD report on the sector.
The new fund will operate on the same basis as the very successful Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI), where the various colleges will compete for public funding on the basis of their own proposals.
The new fund sends a very positive signal to universities like UCD, Trinity and UCC which have already embarked on what has been a difficult and often divisive reform process. Regrettably, the Government declined to outline the scale of funding involved in the new fund, although some in the sector believe it could, over time, contribute over €50 million annually to colleges.
For all that, the new fund is some way short of the "quantum leap" in funding which the OECD says is necessary to put the Irish third-level sector in the premier league. The OECD proposed the return of tuition fees to help achieve this.
But the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin, repeated yesterday that this was "off the agenda". In the absence of any "quantum leap" in funding, the Government hopes the new fund will create a more cost-efficient third-level sector and one which is more responsive to the needs of the economy and the wider society.
Under the new funds, colleges could, for example, secure additional funding for providing graduates in disciplines like science and technology where they are urgently needed.
They could also receive additional funding for meeting Government targets on wider access for lower socio-economic groups. In ruling out the return of fees, Ms Hanafin said that this made the overall funding challenges (facing the third-level sector) all the more acute. It also, she said, "reinforced the importance of developing non-Exchequer income streams."
Despite the failure to back its proposals on fees, it is clear that the Government supports the main thrust of the OECD report. It also wants radical internal restructuring, teaching and learning reforms and improved management information systems.
Critically, it also wants a more dynamic, pro-business third-level sector. The colleges have been told bluntly by the Government to step up their links with industry and to exploit the huge potential income from non-EU students. They have also been reassured that they can retain any new funding secured from new sources.
While much of this is welcome, there are dangers as well as opportunities in this new, more hard-nosed approach. The most obvious is the possible downgrading of the arts and humanities in some colleges in the rush to embrace a pro-business approach. It is to be hoped that those responsible for the new fund will be mindful of this danger.