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Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
NCAD could not ‘wipe slate clean' after student with Down syndrome failed exam, WRC hears
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has heard a third-level institution made 'every effort' to support a young artist with Down syndrome pursuing a degree – but that it could not 'wipe the slate clean' after she failed a crucial first-year module. The director of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) gave evidence on Thursday that in the wake of a 'heated' meeting with the student's parents, the woman's mother, a journalist, told her 'they would make sure that my reputation was damaged'. Ellie Dunne (25) – who is said by her legal team to be the first student with Down syndrome to enrol on a degree programme at NCAD on Thomas Street in Dublin 8 – is pursuing a complaint under the Equal Status Act 2000 against the college. Her case is the college failed to provide her with reasonable accommodation during her first semester after starting in September 2023 and that disability discrimination continued when the college required her to re-sit a failed first-year module. The college's lawyers have denied discrimination 'in the strongest possible terms'. READ MORE At an earlier WRC hearing on Wednesday , the college's head of academic affairs, Dr Siún Hanrahan, said some 32 per cent of the college's approximately 1,400 students had self-declared additional needs of some description. She said the college offers a range of supports to these students. Some were 'tailored' packages on foot of a needs assessment while 'less tailored' support was available more broadly to those who had simply self-declared additional needs. Dr Hanrahan said there was a 'significant difference' between the requirements of the level-five art course completed by Ms Dunne at Stillorgan College of Further Education and the level-eight bachelor's degree at NCAD. Ms Dunne had access to assistive technology and an educational support worker who was available for two days a week, the tribunal heard. After Ms Dunne failed a module, the college made the support worker available for five days. . The witness said Ms Dunne's parents, Katy McGuinness and Feidhlim Dunne, took it as 'a very offensive thing that Ms Dunne had not successfully achieved the learning outcomes of the module'. Ellie Dunne, centre, with her parents Katy McGuinness and Felim Dunne at the WRC in Dublin. Photograph: Stephen Bourke '[Their] view was that the slate should be wiped clean,' she said. 'Under the [academic] regulations, that's just not possible.' . The tribunal heard the college proposed to allow Ms Dunne re-sit the assessment with access to workshops and without academic penalty, and to have it considered by an exam board the following autumn. Barrister Rosemary Mallon, for the respondent, instructed by Paul McDonald of AJP McDonald Solicitors, pointed out she asked Ms Dunne in cross-examination last year whether she 'knew about that offer'. Ms Mallon said Ms Dunne had indicated she did not know about it and would have liked to have availed of it. 'If Ellie didn't know, it was because she was not told by her parents?' Ms Mallon asked Dr Hanrahan. 'Yes,' Dr Hanrahan said. At a January 2024 meeting 'any suggestion of a repeat was met with a lot of opposition,' the college's director, Prof Sarah Glennie said, but mediation was agreed to by the family. Prof Glennie said that during a phone call two days later Ms McGuinness said 'they would make sure that my reputation was damaged' and that 'they would bury me in the process'. 'That was directly said, that they would 'bury you' in the process?' adjudicator Breiffni O'Neill asked. Prof Glennie confirmed this. In cross examination, counsel for the complainant Aisling Mulligan, appearing instructed by KOD Lyons, put it to the witness that Ms McGuinness had 'disputed' telling Prof Glennie she 'would be buried'. Prof Glennie said: 'That is my recollection.' When the disputed remark was first raised last year by Ms Mallon, Ms McGuinness said it was 'a phrase not familiar to me'. The case has been adjourned to October.
Zawya
14-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) Establishes Carpentry Workshop at Orphan School in Uganda
The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) has inaugurated a carpentry workshop at the Alux Orphan School in Alux region. Equipped with technical tools and machinery, the workshop aims to provide orphaned children with vocational skills in carpentry, helping them secure sustainable livelihoods. The new facility offers hands-on training in woodworking, preparing students for careers in the construction and furniture industries. Expert instructors will lead the training to support students' professional development. At the opening ceremony, TİKA Kampala Coordinator Murat Çetin emphasized the critical role of vocational education in development processes, highlighting the agency's priority to prepare youth for the workforce and increase employment opportunities. Local officials and community leaders attending the ceremony expressed their appreciation for TİKA's support of education and vocational advancement, stating that the workshop will transform the lives of many young people in the region. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).
CNA
24-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Hong Kong's education secretary calls on local universities to offer support to Harvard international students
HONG KONG: Hong Kong authorities have urged local tertiary education institutions to offer support for Harvard University students whose dreams have been dashed after the United States barred the Ivy League school from enrolling international candidates, many of whom are from mainland China. At least five local universities on Friday invited those affected by the bombshell move to apply, while an education consultant said it had received calls from distraught parents of 'furious' children who had been accepted at Harvard. According to US authorities, current international students at the university must also either transfer or leave the country. The US Department of Homeland Security cited the university's alleged 'coordinated activity' with the Communist Party of China as part of the reasoning for the ban, which marks a sharp escalation of the row between the Trump administration and the Massachusetts-based global leader in education. Just before midnight, US media reported that a federal judge had blocked the Trump administration's move. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin called on local universities to step up by attracting talent and building the city's 'study in Hong Kong' brand. 'In response to the ban on Harvard University recruiting international students, the Education Bureau has immediately contacted local universities to call on them to take proactive action,' she said in a social media post. Choi said the government had contacted a local Harvard alumni association to provide 'comprehensive support' to students who had been admitted to the university. She also said Hong Kong universities should make use of relaxed quotas on non-local student intake to attract top candidates. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology [HKUST] announced on Friday it was 'opening its doors to Harvard students amid global academic shifts' by expediting admissions and credit transfers, as well as prioritising support for students making the transition, such as help with visas and housing. A special team and an email hotline have been set up for prospective students affected by the surprise ban. 'Diversity fuels creativity and progress,' HKUST's provost, Professor Guo Yike, said. 'We are prepared to welcome Harvard students into our community, offering them the resources and vibrant environment needed to thrive in their fields.' The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) said on Friday it was committed to promoting internationalisation by recruiting outstanding students from around the world and providing them with comprehensive support. This past Tuesday, CUHK president Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming said his team would explore ways to provide additional research subsidies to attract foreign scholars who were leaving the United States. City University also said it was 'extending support to international students facing academic disruption, inviting them to continue their education in Hong Kong'. The university said it would invite the original supervisors of PhD students to serve as co-supervisors, ensuring continuity and academic quality. Baptist University said it had always been committed to internationalisation and recruited outstanding non-local students. It added it would provide necessary support to the relevant students based on the actual circumstances. Polytechnic University said it invited students who had received admission offers from Harvard or were currently enrolled in the school or other top US universities to consider the Hong Kong education institution for continuing their undergraduate or postgraduate studies. It said its admissions team would provide comprehensive support and guidance for transfer students, including scholarships, to help them smoothly navigate the move. The Post has contacted the other publicly funded universities in Hong Kong for comment. Samuel Chan Sze-ming, managing partner at Britannia StudyLink, a company specialising in placements at elite schools, said he had received multiple calls from parents of prospective Harvard applicants and some who had already been accepted. 'These kids have gone through hoops and have prepared their applications to top-notch states and to get an entry is very, very difficult,' Chan said. 'Today, they realise that they cannot start the programme. It's hugely disappointing and many of the students are furious.' Chan recommended parents start looking at other leading universities in the states and Britain, such as Oxbridge and Imperial College London The Department of Homeland Security said that 'Harvard's leadership has created an unsafe campus environment by permitting anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators' to assault Jewish students on campus and reiterated its accusation of 'coordinated activity' between the university and the Communist Party. Harvard on Friday filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse the ban, which is expected to affect more than 5,600 foreign students who make up about a quarter of its student population. According to Harvard, there were 57 students from Hong Kong and 1,282 from the mainland in the 2024-25 academic year. In his policy address last year, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the government would establish a 'Study in Hong Kong' brand to help turn the city into an international tertiary education hub and push for hotels and commercial buildings to be transformed into student hostels.
