Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 May 2021
106. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if additional supports will be put in place for new technological universities which may have commenced during Covid-19, such as the Munster Technological University, to move to on-campus learning in the upcoming term if the circumstances surrounding Covid-19 allow for such a move; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27029/21]
View answer137. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the supports that will be put in place for students returning to on-campus learning in the upcoming term; if the circumstances surrounding Covid-19 allow for such a move; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27028/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 106 and 137 together.
The Government has committed to a significant increase in onsite attendance in the tertiary education sector in the next academic year.
All parties are agreed that maximizing onsite provision for the next academic year is the shared and most powerful objective to meet the needs of our students and learners and the sector.
The Department has established a Working Group to achieve this commitment. This group is comprised of all the key stakeholders and it has begun to develop a plan for returning to significant levels of onsite tertiary education in the autumn.
The key objective of the plan will be to achieve consistent maximum levels of safe and sustainable onsite further education and training, higher education and research in 2021/22.
The working group will work closely with the relevant sectoral stakeholder groups, including the Partnership of Stakeholders in the Technological Sector, and will work at pace to develop the plan and report to the Minister in May. The Minister intends to publish a plan in June for an enhanced campus experience for further and higher education.
The plan will continue to prioritise public health and safety and will be capable of responding to ongoing changes in public health, including the level of vaccination achieved and future national public health advice. The Department will engage with the Department of Health to seek sector specific advice to secure a position that can ensure an expansion of onsite activities upon returning in autumn 2021.
Public investment will need to be secured to support a more resilient significantly onsite sector.
The purpose of the Plan will be to:
- Enable maximum onsite provision of teaching, learning, research and other onsite activities
- To support the ongoing public health requirements
- To support the ongoing needs of students, learners and researchers
- To retain some scope for online teaching and learning where it will be required
- To ensure coherence and consistency in planning and the implementation of public health guidance across the sector
- To support autonomy in the work of institutions and providers in the development of their plans
- To enable a significant resumption of disrupted research activity and return of researchers to campus.
- To enable a phased return for learning for the summer period
The plan will build on the plan which was developed for the academic year 2020/21 incorporating the experience of 2020/21.
The new plan will continue to prioritise public health and safety and respond to ongoing changes in public health, including the level of vaccination achieved and national public health advice.
An intensive financial impact assessment informed and secured an additional funding package of €168m in Covid supports provided to the sector in 2020. Funding was approved to support key initiatives/areas within the HE Sector including:
- Support for Front line Response
- Roadmap for Return to Education
- Move to Online provision in 2020
- Protecting research in Irish Institutions
- Supporting Institutions to attract international student
- Connectivity and Device support for disadvantaged students
- Student Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Equity of Access Increased Support requirements
My Officials are continuing to engage closely with the Higher Education Authority, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and stakeholders to establish and agree the projected 2021 Covid costs for the higher and further education sectors.
A Working Group for Student and Learner Wellbeing and Engagement was established in January 2021, chaired by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), and comprising representatives from across the Tertiary Education Sector.
The purpose of this working group has been to further reflect on the challenges facing student and learner wellbeing and engagement as a result of COVID-19 and to identify existing and further measures to address these. The group's proposals are currently under consideration by the Department and individual providers, with a view to developing a further sectoral response.
