This is the second time within a week that I have raised a matter on the Adjournment pertaining to education when the Minister of State has been sent in to bat for the Minister. Acknowledging the versatility of the Minister of State, his area of competence is mainly youth, sport and school transport. He is not responsible for the sins of the Minister.
The National Council for Educational Awards were one of the most important and prestigious education supervisory bodies. The council were set up by an Act of this House in 1979 to encourage, facilitate and promote technical, industrial, scientific, technological and commercial education, as well as education in art and design. The seventies and eighties have seen a huge expansion in the growth of third level education. We have seen the emergence of the NIHEs and their evolution recently to full university status. We have seen a massive expansion of intake into the traditional universities. In particular the growth and development of the regional and technical colleges has brought its own particular dynamics to the third level education sector. It is generally accepted that the regional technical colleges have very much forced the pace of third level education by providing very healthy and open competition among all third level sectors, and that they have earned their spurs which will be further enhanced by the introduction of the Regional Technical Colleges Bill. This should have been before the House this term but unfortunately it has been postponed until we resume in October. We are fortunate therefore to have a wide choice of third level institutions and that the standard of qualification being awarded by our different colleges and universities are on a par or indeed excel those of their third level peers in any part of the world.
Very much central to the promotion of third level education and absolutely essential from the point of view of synchronising, monitoring and gauging third level qualifications is the National Council for Education Awards. It is the NCEA who are responsible for the conferring of degrees, diplomas and certificates. The council who have a five year term of office lapsed in July 1990, exactly one year ago, and have been on ice since. Their work is being carried out by the chairman, Mr. Richard Healy, who was nominated by the Minister for Education, and by the director, Mr. Pádraig Mac Diarmada, both very capable and competent gentlemen. However, the chairman has no council over which to preside and therefore is largely redundant, the director is supposed to do the bidding of the actual council but as there has been no council in existence for the past year he does nobody's bidding. The intention of the Act was that the NCEA would be a representative body, comprising a chairman, director and 21 members. Of particular significance are the five VEC representatives because some of them are directly elected local authority members. I am led to believe, however, that the crux of the problem seems to be that the nine ministerial appointments cannot be agreed. It has been put to me that the major obstacle seems to be whether the Progressive Democrats should get a share of those appointments as they are the junior partner in Government. I am not particularly worried as long as the council are put in place as soon as possible and that the people who are put on the council are able to discharge their remit and have a qualified input to the council deliberations. I fail to see why any split or disagreement between the Government partners as to the number of seats which should be assigned to each of the partners should be the reason that the council are put on ice.
I would like the Minister to clear the air once and for all tonight and I want an assurance from the Minister of State, in the absence of the Minister, that the new council will be formulated without delay. It is potentially very damaging at present that there is absolutely no synchronisation, no monitoring or standardisation of degrees, diplomas and certificates being awarded by the various third level institutions which is one of the kernel functions of the NCEA. It is absolutely vital that the matter be rectified forthwith and that the new council be constituted and begin their important five year term of office without further delay.
Not alone is the non-existence of the NCEA in itself a considerable handicap to higher education, but there is the added problem that all of the NCEA's subcommittees are defunct and therefore important areas of third level development are not dealt with. I have been contacted by the principals of some of the regional colleges and some of the RTC personnel who feel very aggrieved that the NCEA should be left on ice for so long. The situation is all the more serious if it is to be the victim of political pettiness. Approximately 80 per cent of the business of the NCEA is related to the regional technical colleges. New courses are emerging all the time, new third level developments continue to arrive on the horizon but without the guiding hand of the NCEA the colleges find themselves left in a considerable state of uncertainty or without any official recognition or imprimatur until such time as the new council is set up.
Finally I urge the Minister of State to tell the House in no uncertain terms that he proposes in the absence of the Minister to dispel the disquiet and rumours and that it is his intention to reconstitute the NCEA without further delay.
