The SDLP leader on Derry City and Strabane District Council says the city must receive its fair share of university places if it is ever to reach its full potential.
Councillor Brian Tierney was speaking after attending a Hume Foundation event on higher education in the North-West of Ireland in the city yesterday.
The event discussed previously reported figures that 71% of higher education students in the North are based in Belfast, the highest proportion of any capital city on these islands.
The Hume Foundation event showcased the potential that exists for a cross-border university in Derry that can serve the entire North-West of the island. That echoed comments made by the Republic’s Higher Education Minister Simon Harris at a conference in Letterkenny on Friday.
The Derry event was told the potential is there, what’s needed is the political will to make it a reality.
It is expected the number attending will rise with the transfer of students from University of Ulster’s Jordanstown campus to the city, with the SDLP pointing to a commitment in the New Decade, New Approach agreement to 10,000 students within five years.
However, Independent Cllr Shaun Harkin is concerned at comments from the UU Vice Chancellor suggesting his target is to reach 6,000 students at Magee in five years.
He says the university knows full well the expectation in Derry and the wider North West for higher education provision expansion, with nearly £100M of Derry City Deal funding earmarked for UU.
