Published: Wednesday, 8th September, 2010 5:00pm

Cavan Institute in SOS to Minister

Two in three students to be turned away as 5,000 apply for just 1,580 places

Students at Cavan Institute during their induction and information day on Tuesday. Applications for courses are at a record high. Photo: Adrian Donohoe

The receipt of some 5,000 applications for some 1,500 places at Cavan Institute has thrown the college into emergency mode this week as it seeks to accommodate the aspirations of all those young people clamouring for qualifications.

The situation led the institute to call an emergency meeting of its board of management on Monday evening; while Cavan Vocational Education Committee (VEC) also met to consider the crisis yesterday evening (Tuesday). Cavan Institiute director, Anne Marie Lacey, told The Anglo-Celt this week that if something isn't done, many of those students on its waiting list will end up on the dole.

The number of applications now stands at almost 5,000 presenting a overwhelming problem for the college, which is very much a Cavan success story, and could be described as a victim of its own success. Since the cap on the number of Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) places in colleges was introduced a couple of years ago, the allocated number of places at Cavan Institute is 1,216. The institute was permitted to enrol a further 365 students last year.

But there is now such an astronomical increase in the number of applicants for the new academic year that there is intense pressure on Tánaiste and Minister for Education, Mary Coughlan, to substantially increase the level of funding so Cavan Institute can accommodate a much larger body of students. Ms. Lacey acknowledges that there is an unprecedented demand for places at the college. She attributes this to a number of factors including the economic downturn, the continuing growth in the reputation of Cavan Institute and its ability to offer courses that are unique in this region.

According to Ms. Lacey, staffing capacity at the college is at its limit and without an urgent addition to the cap to at least meet last year's enrolled figures, many students on waiting lists will not receive an offer of a place. Those students may not have any other alternative but to join the live register, she says. It has been suggested that an enrolment provision of over 2,000 students is now essential.

Cavan Institute is reputed to be worth as much as €30m to the local economy and its well being is being closely watched by chambers of commerce and job creation agencies.

According to the president of the Cavan Chamber, Pacelli Lynch, it is vital that Cavan Institute has sufficient funding to enable it provide the facilities and the number of teachers that it requires. He said it was a known fact that the towns currently doing well in this country were those that had institutes of technology located in them.

"The government is talking about a smart economy but the first thing you do is educate your young people. I call on the government to provide the necessary funds," stated the Cavan Chamber president.

The CEO of Cavan County Enterprise Board, Vincent Reynolds, is firmly of the view that Cavan Institute, since its foundation and particularly in recent years, is critical to the provision of qualified people for business in the County Cavan area.

"I am thinking in particular of companies such as Quinn Insurance, which have been able to avail of personnel trained in international telesales, for instance, due to the level of education provided by Cavan Institute," stated Mr. Reynolds.

"Obviously the big deficiency in Cavan is the lack of a fully fledged third-level facility and facilities such as Cavan Institute and Cavan Innovation and Technology Centre are both playing a critical role in meeting the shortfall created by this gap in the infrastructure," added the CEO of CCEB.

The chairperson of Cavan VEC, Councillor Madeleine Argue, who is also chairperson of the board of management of Cavan Institute, confirmed that a number of meetings have been held to discuss the unprecedented demand for places.

"A detailed report has been prepared for presentation to the Department of Education and Skills seeking additional resources. The board of management are currently awaiting the outcome of this submission," stated Cllr. Argue.

She continued: "It defies logic that at a time when we are in a position to train people in new areas where they have the potential to gain employment and when we already have sufficient numbers of students to run these courses twice over that we should be at risk of having to cancel the courses and withdraw these course offers."

Now celebrating 25 years, Cavan Institute is currently one of the leading colleges of further education in Ireland. It offers 75 full-time courses, mainly at FETAC levels 5 and 6.

Ms. Lacey is advising all those who have not received places to contact the careers offices at Cavan Institute for advice on possible other options.