The Irish Universities Association (IUA) has “warmly welcomed” the €168 million funding package for the higher education sector that the government announced today.
In a press statement, Director General of the IUA Jim Miley described today’s announcement as “tangible evidence of the government’s recognition of the key role that higher education and research has in helping to reboot the economy. It follows through on the commitment to the sector as represented by the establishment of a separate government Department”.
“The Covid fund provides universities with the immediate resources to plan and implement teaching and research programmes for the new academic year and ensure that the quality of those programmes is underpinned to deliver the best student experience possible”, he added.
The government announced the €168 million package for third-level institutions and students today. The funding aims to cover costs incurred during the coronavirus pandemic and to support students returning to college in September.
“Throughout the pandemic, further and higher education never closed. Even during the most restricted period of the pandemic, institutions and providers continued to provide education through emergency remote learning”, Harris said in a press statement today.
“We need to support them now as we seek to return in September”, he added.
The roadmap has been devised “on a consultative basis with stakeholders and the assistance of public health expertise”, according to Harris, adding: “This guidance is a live document and can change and update as public health advice evolves.”
Meanwhile, a new strategy for the Further Education and Training (FET) sector was launched last week by Harris and Collins.
The strategy sets out a five-year road map for the sector which has 200,000 unique learners enrol each year.
The plan envisions a focus on areas such as climate change, sustainable development and on promoting strong mental health and wellbeing in new FET programmes. The sector will also try to diversify and make apprenticeships more accessible.
