Oscar nominations highlight folly of cap on PLC student numbers

(05 Feb 2010)

This week’s Academy Award nominations for four animation graduates of Ballyfermot College of Further Education make clear the ‘backward’ nature of the cap on student numbers in the sector, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) today claimed.

The union believes PLC colleges are in an ideal position to develop high quailty courses to suit local industry needs as the country builds towards economic recovery, but the cap on student numbers is severely hampering their development.

Speaking today, TUI General Secretary Peter MacMenamin said:

“Staff of Ballyfermot College are thrilled at the announcement this week of Oscar nominations for four former graduates of their animation courses. The college has been synonymous with a world class output for many years, and these nominations are a massive endorsement of the work carried out by the staff there.

However, It is an indictment of the short-sightedness of our education policy makers that colleges such as Ballyfermot remain severely restricted by a capping on student numbers.

Research carried out by TUI shows that 6,200 students applied for just 1,300 first year places in Ballyfermot College last year. Due to the cap on student numbers, almost 5,000 were left disappointed.

Trends are the same in every province and in every town and city. Whether it is Cavan, Cork, Dublin, Dun Laoghaire, Drogheda, Limerick, Sligo or Galway, colleges ended up with long waiting lists of applicants.  On average there were two applicants for every PLC place, or a staggering 60,000 applications for just half the number of places.

Now more than ever, it is imperative that the Department of Education lifts the cap for those colleges that receive multiple applications for each place for the next academic year.

PLC courses are a very cost effective way of up-skilling the population and restrictions on places make no economic, social or educational sense. In economic terms, the cost of the extra resources necessary to take on new students would be greatly offset by savings otherwise payable in the form of Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Programmes provide students with specific vocational skills which enhance their prospects of securing employment or progressing on to further studies.  

The Ballyfermot success story is one of a college of further education finding a niche and embracing the smart economy that our politicians love to talk about, but do little to realise.

All economic commentators agree that the nation requires a highly skilled and well educated workforce to take on the challenges of new opportunities as soon as the green shoots of economic recovery appear. PLC courses can evolve quickly to suit the needs of the local community and as such are of an absolutely vital importance going forward.”