During this time student numbers climbed by about 30 per cent or more while staffing numbers nudged upwards by about 10 per cent.
“There is a demographic tsunami coming and if we allow the staff-student ratio to get worse, the quality of programmes will be at risk,” a spokesman for the authority warned at the time.Lecturers say there student-staff ratios are now “vastly and unacceptably higher” than other developed countries. “Too few academic staff have been recruited and they have been recruited too often on short-term, fixed-term contracts,” said Frank Jones, general secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers, recently. “Talent is leaving Irish universities because of the contracts on offer.”
Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris says additional core funding will allow higher education institutions hire more than 1,500 permanent, full-time staff from September. Photoraph: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos In parallel, Harris says his department is working with the Department of Public Expenditure, the Higher Education Authority and education stakeholders on a new model to replace the employment control framework.