New Trinity provost hits out over job creation restraints
Universities are being prevented from creating jobs that would help attract fee-paying students from abroad, according to the new provost of Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dr Patrick Prendergast.
Colleges' hands are "tied behind our backs" by government controls on employment, he said.
Dr Prendergast was speaking at his inauguration as the 44th provost of TCD.
He said there was a need to loosen some of the constraints on higher education, such as the Employment Control Framework, which imposes restrictions on the numbers that can be employed.
"To compete globally, I need to have flexibility and decision-making powers, the same flexibility that other presidents of leading universities can count on. At the moment, I need to get permission for what I do."
He said Irish universities could be big creators of jobs, but the country had twisted itself into a position "where we are forcing universities to shed jobs rather than create them".
"It doesn't make sense. Why aren't we turning Ireland into an educational hub?"
Irish Independent
