Financing Higher Education

This conference affirms that it is vital for our national economic recovery that we have a well educated population and that therefore investment in education at all levels must be a priority. We welcome the increased numbers of students attending higher education and we especially welcome the increased numbers of a-typical students such as mature students, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, students with disabilities and overseas students. However, we call upon the Minister for Education & Skills to recognise that it is simply not possible to provide the quality of education that these students deserve when the system is so underfunded, when staff numbers are reduced and when morale is damaged due to lack of resources. Therefore, we call upon the Government to invest extra finances in higher education without comprising levels especially of those from disadvantaged backgrounds.