Call for more student places, to avert ‘brain drain’

Northern Ireland’s ‘brain drain’ will continue until the cap limiting student numbers in our universities is raised, the vice-chancellor of Queen’s University has said, reports Mark Bain for the Belfast Telegraph.

Professor Sir Ian Greer added that appeals from the higher education sector for funding increases to ensure as many young people as possible can attend university “at home” are still being ignored. He said the restrictions, with Queen’s permitted to offer 3,500 students from Northern Ireland a place on a degree course, are “neither equitable nor sustainable”.

“At Queen’s, we receive nearly 28,000 applications every year, with the vast majority from Northern Ireland. Yet due to the funding cap imposed here by the Executive, known as maximum student number, we are limited to offering approximately 3,500 places to students from here.”
Full report on the Belfast Telegraph site