Position StatementPosition of St Mary's University College on the Ministerial Statement by Dr Stephen Farry on 28 November 2011.
The Principal of St Mary’s University College, Professor Peter Finn, said:
"This is the position of St Mary’s University College.
St Mary’s is a high-performing specialist institution with a very distinctive mission and we form part of a diverse higher education provision. The College is grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition of higher education and it promotes a Catholic philosophy and anthropology through the pursuit of excellence in learning and teaching. We will continue to be autonomous and based on the Falls Road in West Belfast. The College will guard and protect its distinct ethos and identity, as well as its place as an integral element of the Catholic education sector which includes more than five hundred schools.
It is for the Minister of Education to determine the arrangements for the provision of initial teacher education in the North of Ireland.
On the matter of Dr Farry's review, St Mary's believes it is premature to be considering new models of teacher education before the autonomy and viability of this University College has first been confirmed by the Ministers.
St Mary’s University College has a coherent and well thought out strategy for ensuring its long-term future as a highly successful autonomous institution of higher education located on the Falls Road in West Belfast. The success of St Mary’s is apparent in excellent academic standards, extremely high application rates for its courses, student satisfaction rates amongst the highest in these islands and a commitment to opening up higher education to students from less well-off families, which is unquestioned. The College is a centre of excellence for Irish Medium education. This involves both teacher training and the production of learning materials for schools. St Mary’s is also recognised nationally as an example par excellence of engagement with its local community.
The strategy for sustainability will of course require the support of the two relevant government departments namely the Department of Education and the Department for Employment and Learning. Sustainability is therefore a matter for the two Ministers. We note that the Minister of Education, John O’Dowd, reported to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 20th September 2011 that 'we must also ensure that we have in place a system that supports an overall viable and vibrant teacher training sector that meets the needs of our pluralist education system'.
St Mary’s is an integral part of Queen’s University in terms of its academic provision whilst it has preserved a high level of institutional autonomy for the purpose of taking forward a distinctive mission, ethos, and identity. This position is in line with the principles of sharing and pluralism which are at the core of our society’s system of resource allocation through the political process. As we reported to the Assembly’s Employment and Learning Committee recently, St Mary’s is committed to considering high-level sharing and cooperation across the ITE providers.
Going forward, the College will continue to offer high-quality values-sensitive teacher education programmes and in particular, but not exclusively, will support Catholic schools and Irish medium schools in the North by supplying highly competent teachers. St Mary’s will seek to support the professional development of teachers from all school sectors through the provision of a Masters degree level CPD programme. It will also offer a liberal arts degree programme which opens up career opportunities, particularly for those from low-income backgrounds, in many areas of graduate employment.
Building on the solid platform of exceptionally high levels of student satisfaction, the College will take forward its strategy for sustainability and its distinctive mission in partnership and through sharing with a wide range of stakeholders from the local to the international level."