Education board is 'fully committed' to Skibbereen campus

CORK ETB is fully committed to the future of its West Cork campus in Skibbereen, according to a statement from the board this week.

The statement was issued following Cork South West Deputy Michael Collins’ comments in last week’s Southern Star about the future of the campus.

Responding to the news that the horticulture course was being axed, the Independent Ireland party leader said that the decision led some to query CETB’s commitment to the campus in Skibbereen.

‘The provision of high-quality courses, centred in its rural campuses, is an integral part of Cork Education and Training Board’s (Cork ETB) strategy to meet the needs and demands of its learners in the county,’ the board said in a statement on Tuesday.

‘Cork ETB is fully committed to its further education and training provision and the future development of all its campuses with additional courses into the future, including its West Cork and Kinsale campuses,’ it added.

It said the axing of the course was ‘extremely unfortunate’, and despite its best eff orts ‘in terms of recruitment and marketing’, that occasionally the decision has to be taken to withdraw courses. A decision of such nature is not based on any once-off demand reduction but on trends observed over a period of time, the statement continued.

‘Cork ETB is delighted with the progress that has been made to date in terms of the consolidation of our Skibbereen services into one campus.

Furthermore, we look forward to the further enhancement of the preparatory course in nursing, in collaboration with MTU, for those interested in progressing to degree qualifi cation,’ it said.

Fine Gael senator Tim Lombard said it was ‘really poor form’ to see Deputy Collins ‘throwing around unfounded comments’ about the campus.

He said the course was withdrawn due to ‘lack of numbers’.

‘CETB confirmed that they are exploring other options that could facilitate the small number of people who may be interested in completing a course in horticulture,’ he added.

‘This negativity and spreading misinformation is really unhelpful, particularly when it’s coming from public representatives who should know better,’ said the senator.