Mayo university must be allowed to reach its potential

Many years ago, when thousands of young Irish people were forced to emigrate to Great Britain and other parts of the world, they did so with a heavy heart.

They left behind parents who were heartbroken at the loss of their sons and daughters who had very little education apart from what they had been taught at national school.

This was not the fault of our emigrants or their parents. It was the accepted system of education and they could not do anything to improve that inadequate system.

Then along came Deputy Donogh O’Malley, Minister for Education, who swept the bureaucrats in the civil service to one side and changed the rules which gave the opportunity to thousands to go on to university.

Today going to university is a huge financial burden for students and their parents. To be fair, it was O’Malley who set the ball rolling in the right direction against a great deal of opposition.

It was much the same when Deputy Noel Browne became Minister for Health and tackled the question of tuberculosis, which was sweeping this country at the time.

We currently could do with men of the calibre of O’Malley and Browne, a man with strong Ballinrobe connections.

The majority of our people today who emigrate are the brightest of the bright and can more than hold their own with the best in the world.

A number of those young people, currently working in England, were recently interviewed in the Irish Times. They were full of confidence and spoke of how well they were received by the English people and their employers.

The same situation applies in the US and Australia. The pity is that so many of our graduates are forced to emigrate because of higher salaries and better working conditions in other countries.

Matters on many fronts across the globe have changed dramatically in recent years, particularly on the educational scene.

On the local front, our fervent hope is that Athlatic Technological Univesity Mayo will be allowed to expand over the coming years with additional courses and new buildings, if required.

Accommodation must also be provided for students attending the university.

There must be closer liaison between the university and members of Mayo County Council who deserve to be represented on the university’s board of management. Council members should insist on it.

Towns such as Sligo and Letterkenny have developed enormously since they were allocated regional technical colleges, recently given university status. Hopefully the same will happen in Castlebar and other major towns in Mayo.

Nothing should be allowed to stand in the way of Mayo university achieving its full potential.

We hope those in power receive that message loud and clear.