No third level education for West Belfast

Tuesday December 10, 2002 17:00

by Sean Smyth - none

UU pull out of Springvale Campus

The plan for a much needed and wanted university campus at Springvale “West Belfast” is not to be built after the Ulster University withdrew their support for the project.

The plan for a much needed and wanted university campus at Springvale “West Belfast” is not to be built after the Ulster University withdrew their support for the project.
For the last ten years the only progress made was when Bill Clinton cut a sod of turf.
Now all the plans are no more than a pipedream, all the promises made under the Good Friday Agreement” to the long-suffering people nationalist and loyalist of West Belfast”, three hundred plus jobs, three thousand extra third level education places, and the rejuvenation for a part of Belfast which has been neglected for far to long are never to be realized.
The repercussions are going to be far reaching to the community’s of the area, Whiterock F.E.C is in danger of closing, for the last ten years the old “St Thomas school” building on the Whiterock Rd as been neglected while people waited for the promises made to them to become a reality.
When the education board close St Thomas’s over two thousand learners will be faced with the prospect of their classes being cancelled and with having to travel into the city centre were they will have to pay up to £130.00 per week for child care in the new Millfield F.E.C. They only pay one third of that at Whiterock because Millfield is not subsidised nor should it be, as it is part of the ppp/pfi plan used to build the new collage, the workers at St Thomas’s face a bleak New Year with possible job loses.
As a student of BIFHE at Whiterock I am calling on all the elected representatives “ SF.SDLP.PUP” Ect, to state publicly (1) if they are supporting the closure of BIFHE at Whiterock, (2) and why wasn’t a task force similar to the one set-up of lagan side not established for West Belfast.
The Director of BIFHE, Brian Turtle will be at St Thomas’s Whiterock on Wednesday the 18th December, pupils passed and present should be there with a clear message for Brian and the education board “DON’T CLOSE ST THOMAS’S”.

Sean Smyth
Student St Thomsa’s

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Comments (5 of 5)

boo hoo

by mook

Wed Dec 11, 2002 13:48

So let me see, they spend the entire time throwing rocks etc at each other and then expect a university to go ooooh that’s an ideal learning environment, lets build a campus right there. Typical whining Northern Ireland mentality.

Read the mail

by Killian

Wed Dec 11, 2002 01:25

This student made an appeal as he feels he will not have the opportunity to gain access to a qulaity third level education.

He did not mention the word catholic or protestant once and called on the reps of the area SF/SDLP and PUP to clarify their positions.

Then the previous poster denegrates the student by suggesting his concerns and campaign is sectarian.

This is insulting to the student and an blinkered dismissal of his motive.

Read, think, analyse, construct, respond.

Five simple steps before you jump on your keys the next time a poster from north of dundalk or east of letterkenny has an issue they want to highlight and support they would like.

Shame on you JK.

by JK

Tue Dec 10, 2002 23:49

There is no access among the catholic working class to university, this is also the case among the protestant working class. Surely it is better to have a unifed non sectarian campaign.

This is bad news indeed.

by maalox - idealistic middle class students movement

Tue Dec 10, 2002 21:32

maalox at safe-mail dot net

Any reasons given? Or was the whole thing just a "peace dividend" con? This makes me truly fucking angry.

Same old story

by Kitty

Tue Dec 10, 2002 19:41

Hey Sean,
Well, nothing new there you know. Keep the working class under educated and divided. Same story with the top up fees.
And not only that but when you look at all women groups in Belfast, most of them are in danger to loose the funds and even the Rape Crisis centre was in deep shit till very recently. They even got their phone cut off...while they are the only centre in NI.
The new wolrd order is about going back to the old good days of repression in the name of privatisation.

Yours,
Kitty
Belfast

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No third level education for West Belfast

Comments (5 of 5)