Governmental reforms of the public sector, which have been announced today (November 17th), are set to slash the number of Vocational Education Committees (VECs) and merge several third level bodies.

The number of local VECs in the country will be cut from 33 to 16, the report from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform confirmed, while three bodies covering higher education will be amalgamated.

These are the Further Education and Training Awards, the Higher Education and Training Award Council and the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, with will become a single department.

It was also announced as part of the review that a further 23,500 workers across the public sector are expected to lose their jobs by 2015 - marking a 12 per cent reduction from the peak levels seen in 2008.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has this week refused to rule out additional fees for third level students in the next budget announcement, stressing no decision on funding has yet been made.

Written by Donal Walsh
 

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