THE abolition of third level fees should be extended to cover students on approved courses in private institutions, according to the umbrella body for the largest private colleges.
Private colleges should be allowed join the CAO system, and their students participate in EU transfer schemes such as Socrates, a submission from the Higher Education Colleges Association (HECA) argues.
HECA rejects plans by the Minister for Education to introduce tax relief for students in the private sector. These students should be treated equally with students in public colleges through the payment of direct grants, it says.
The submission has been prepared for the working group on private commercial colleges established by Ms Breathnach.
The closing date for submissions was last Friday, ironically the same day that the Northern education authorities announced they would no longer pay grants to students from Northern Ireland attending private colleges in the Republic. The decision is likely to cause financial difficulties for some colleges.
The submission proposes a system of academic and financial bonding to protect students in the event of the collapse of a college. Under the system, the students affected would be able to transfer to another college - private or public - and might be able to claim their fees back from a pooled fund.
At least three private colleges have gone bankrupt in recent years, in some cases leaving students heavily out of pocket and stranded in the middle of their courses. The submission says the sector needs Government help to set up such a scheme, adding that insurers have told individual colleges they are unwilling to provide bonding arrangements.
If tax relief is introduced for the private education sector, the colleges say it should operate only for this year, after which fees should be abolished. Tax relief should be based on the economic cost to the State of equivalent courses in public institutions.
The colleges say they are dissatisfied with the long delay in dealing with the sector, and the short period of time allowed for submissions. The working group placed newspaper advertisements seeking submissions only four days before Christmas.
The submission says the private colleges are "not mere, profit making entities, run for the sole benefit of their owners and management". Instead, they are a vital component of the education system, providing low cost education for students who would otherwise be excluded because they cannot meet the points requirements in mainstream colleges.
The abolition of fees has created an unfair competitive barrier, the submission claims. This: will force the private colleges to cut back on facilities and restrict: their student intake.
"It would not be in the interests of the State (nor would it be desired by the independent colleges themselves) if these institutions, were to be compelled, out of economic necessity, to restrict their student populations essentially to Irish students from wealthier, backgrounds or to overseas students.
