The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) today echoed Ruairi Quinn’s call for the resources of FAS to be allocated to the education sector and that the agency be dismantled in its current form. The union believes its role should be subsumed into the Department of Education and Skills and that Institutes of Technology and Colleges of Further Education (PLCs) are best placed to provide the high quality, cost efficient courses that the smart economy requires. 
This urgency of this situation is further emphasised by Deputy Fergus O’Dowd’s statement regarding questions arising over the certification of some recent courses.

Speaking today, TUI General Secretary Peter MacMenamin said:

“In its current form, we believe that FAS is a barrier to the development of the smart economy. Its creditability has been completely stripped by hugely damaging revelations over the past year.  FAS has degenerated into an outmoded, irrelevant and hugely expensive quango.

There are clearly question marks over the value and quality of some courses administered by private providers endorsed by FAS. The Government should insist that every State endorsed course should offer approved qualifications through HETAC or FETAC. In this regard, Institutes of Technology and the Further Education colleges are ideally placed to develop the balanced skill set that the country requires with a wide range of high quality courses.

In terms of best use of financial resources there is an absolute need for increased co-operation between the state agencies that have responsibility for the provision of education and training.  There should be a planned, co-ordinated and integrated agenda for the provision of further education and training. The redefined Department of Education and Skills should take over the agency’s remit as a matter of urgency to co-ordinate all education and training initiatives in a constructive and cost effective manner at this most crucial time for the country.

With almost 500,000 currently unemployed, it is imperative that those on the live register are enabled to upskill and retrain, in order that they can contribute to Ireland’s economic recovery.  Individuals who are unemployed need to be up skilled and retrained from where they are at in accordance with their needs and abilities and indeed linking into future job possibilities. For instance those individuals with certificate qualifications should be encouraged to obtain a diploma and those with diplomas should be encouraged to obtain a degree level qualification.

We would be extremely confident that at present the cost of putting a student through a PLC course in a college of further education costs less per head than that charged by a private for-profit provider, where sometimes the quality of provision, assessment and certification is extremely questionable. Further Education and Training courses should give learners the opportunity to further enhance their education through access, transfer and progression. The current FAS system is not meeting this requirement.

Also, we know that money is being wasted needlessy because we  have been made aware of instances of elements or modules of successful Post Leaving Courses being duplicated by FAS within certain towns and cities. Surely this is the clearest possible endorsement of the success of PLC courses and a damning indictment of the duplication FAS actively promotes and endorses.”