Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 February 2022
54. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the status of the strategic action plan for equity, participation and success in higher education 2022-2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6380/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraWill the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science tell me the status of the strategic action plan for equity, participation and success in higher education for the period 2022 to 2026, and will he advise the House of his plans?
I thank Deputy Moynihan very much for raising this issue, which I know is one in which he has a particular interest. Development of the new strategic action plan for equity, participation and success in higher education, which I call the national access and inclusion plan, is at its very final stage. The plan is being developed collaboratively between my Department and the Higher Education Authority. The plan has involved significant consultation with interested stakeholders, as is right and proper, including the institutions but also with students, individuals and representative groups of students with disabilities, and students from a range of under-represented groups. I am pleased to say there was a very strong response to the consultation process, and in addition to workshops and engagements, we have also received a total of 122 submissions from a wide range of stakeholder groups.
The approach of this plan will be rooted strongly in a partnership approach involving the role of the Government, institutions and communities. It will focus on improving the learning experience and success of learners and will seek to enhance support for people who are under-represented in the learner population in higher education.
Among the key themes in the new plan will be the continued targeting of progress with specific groups with policy measures, funding and institutional initiatives aligned to support these groups. I am particularly delighted to say that for the first time this will address people with intellectual disabilities who have been, quite frankly, overlooked in previous plans. I am quite excited about this and it is an important move.
It will also be a move away from just measuring access, which is important. It is quite easy to measure access, that is, how many students have got into the college. This, however, will follow their pathway through college, their successful completion and what happens post college in employment terms
There will be a stronger focus on pathways between further education and training and higher education to try to create that more unified and connected third level system. There will also be an evidence-based approach to policy, with a strong focus on data.
I intend to bring the final plan to Government in advance of publication in March. We have a budget of €5 million for 2022 to put a number of initiatives in place to try to advance this plan.
The Minister mentioned the timeframe. There is a great urgency with this. Even though the education system has quite rightly served the country very well over the decades, we need to look at those who are not benefiting from education, those on the margins of society and those, as the Minister has said in his response, who are not represented in it.
I have a number of questions. I am glad the Minister is looking at the whole experience. What are the outcomes for people with disabilities in further education? Many of those in the further education sector and in many of the colleges throughout the country in the sector would say they have been the Cinderella of education for quite a long time. A great amount of work has been done, a very small percentage of people have gone back to further education through the colleges, and their lives have changed dramatically because of that. We as a society need to be very mindful of that. We must also challenge all of Government - this Department and others - to ensure we are looking towards the people who are not engaging with further education, how we can make it more accessible, and how we can devise a programme and strategies that will ensure the best possible outcomes for people with learning difficulties and every kind of challenge who are on the margins of society. The Minister needs to focus on that.
On the submissions, is the Minister still taking submissions on this strategy or has this process closed at this point?
The submissions process has formally closed but it is never too late to submit a good idea. If there are any further groups or ideas the Deputy wishes to bring forward, I will be very happy to hear from them. The Deputy is 100% right as he has described those at the margins. One of the things a group or stakeholder driving the strategy said was that there needed to be additional priority groups.
As I was saying in my response to Deputy Bacik earlier, we have made good progress on a number of category groups. There are more students with a disability in higher education than ever. However, that masks another reality. We are not measuring all disabilities, so we expect additional priority groups.
On the outcomes piece, that is exactly it. We cannot just say, and this came from the feedback and the consultation, that it is great a student with a disability got into college. Of course it is, but that is the student's right. What we need to do is see what the student's college experience is like. That brings me to the Deputy's next point, because the plan will require joined-up thinking, including with the Department of Education, on the transition planning between second level and third level, and with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, on what happens in job opportunities afterwards.
On the point about further education and training being the Cinderella of education, from a capital point of view that has been correct, but the Deputy can expect a significant uplift in capital funding in a new capital call. He can expect an announcement in that regard probably later this week.
On the capital side, I look forward to that later in the week. On the revenue side and the day-to-day running of it, what percentage of the overall higher education budget will be targeted towards people on the margins of society? There are people who have multi-generational issues whereby they have not got into third level education and do not see a prospect of third level education. In addition, on the disability side, it is necessary to ensure there are outcomes for them there. There is a fundamental attitude across society that has to change. While the Minister says the figures have increased, it is from a very low base. We must be able to say that everybody has a role to play in society. With this new Department and by making sure this strategy is correct, I believe we can encourage more people into education and see better outcomes for them, but it has to be targeted at the most vulnerable and those with disabilities.
I am 100% up for that. I hope the Oireachtas and Oireachtas committees, including Deputy Michael Moynihan, can genuinely play a helpful and active role in monitoring this. It is not a static document. In my term as Minister, I have been regularly invited to the oversight group. We publish the documents and the targets, but then the work begins. Our figures for higher education participation are very good and among the best in Europe, but headline figures can flatter and can mask another reality. They are very good and there has been progress across all groups, but not equal progress. That is why this is a national access and inclusion plan, identifying the priority groups where we want to make progress and provide funding. In fairness to my colleagues in the Government, I am pleased we have a €5 million fund this year to drive forward some of these initiatives, so it will not be a plan without real funding.
The question about the percentage of the budget is very good. I will have to get the answer for the Deputy because, of course, it is not one budget line. We provide a variety of supports for students with disability across SOLAS, the HEA, the SUSI grant system and the fund for students with disability. Perhaps I can send that information in writing to the Deputy.
