Motion no: 36
Conference welcomes the recent publication of the Interim Report by the Magee Taskforce which outlines a road map for the expansion of the Ulster University Magee Campus in Derry. After many decades of government inaction and empty promises, this interim report, possibly for the first time in several generations, outlines a feasible pathway to deliver on the political commitment made in the New Decade New Approach (NDNA) agreement reached in January 2020.
Delivery of the Taskforce recommendations includes the potential to see the establishment of a university teaching hospital at Altnagelvin, including possible financial support from the Irish Government to build stronger collaboration on health provision to benefit all citizens right across the border region and beyond.
We acknowledge that delivery on such a scale to reach 10,000 students over the next few years will require significant commitment and investment from all concerned. This includes the Assembly Executive and others including the British and Irish governments, both in terms of capital and infrastructure investment, but also the creation of good quality teaching and support services jobs at the university, as well as other job creation opportunities linked to the increase of thousands of additional students and workers across the region
Conference is disappointed however by the underwhelming ambition expressed in the draft Programme for Government, particularly as it applies to third level education access.
The departure from a clear commitment in the NDNA to securing at least 10,000 student places at Ulster University’s Magee campus is deeply concerning. The draft PfG proposal to reach ‘up to 10,000’ places is a significant change in ambition both to addressing regional economic balance and providing people with the opportunity to benefit from greater access to higher education places.
Additionally the draft PfG makes no mention of alternative mechanisms for funding third level education beyond significant student contributions through tuition fees which discourage young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds and those from marginalised communities and areas of multiple deprivation. The further failure to address the artificial limit imposed on third level places by the Maximum Student Numbers (MaSN) cap is also contributing to degrading ambition for young people in the North-West.
Conference calls on the incoming NIC to use its significant influence to support the ongoing work of the Taskforce in delivering significant change through the expansion of Magee campus. The NIC should also add its voice to the growing demand that this time the people of Derry will finally witness the change they have been rightfully seeking for more than half a century.
Conference calls for a change to the draft Programme for Government to contain a clear commitment to a minimum of 10,000 student places at Magee, and we renew our support for free, third level education for all and call for a review of the MaSN cap with a view to its abolition.
