Nearly three-quarters of academics in the Republic of Ireland say working conditions have deteriorated in the wake of mass job cuts and rising student numbers, says a recent study. Higher education funding shrank by 29 percent between 2007 and 2014, but student numbers have risen by 16 percent over the same period, according to Creating a Supportive Working Environment for Academics in Higher Education, a report published on June 22.

Since 2007, staffing levels have been reduced by 17 percent, or 3,500 posts. Academics report growing levels of stress caused by excessive teaching loads, says the study, commissioned by Ireland’s two teaching trade unions. About 72 percent of almost 1,200 university staff surveyed for the report — about one in 20 Irish academics — say that conditions are worse than in 2007 when Ireland was plunged into a financial crisis and public expenditure was cut by €7.8 billion (Rs.5,456 crore).

“There is a lot of willingness from management to allow students to progress to the next year in a way they may not have in the past,” says one polytechnic employee. “We have brought students in from outside Europe who cannot speak English and basically staff are being told (to) pass them,” says another, adding that it’s now “all about the money”.

Launching the report, John Walshe, former adviser to ex-education minister Ruairi Quinn, said higher education had been hit harder than other parts of the public sector, where headcount was cut by only 10 percent. The study calls for “significantly increased and sustained levels of investment to meet growing student demand”.

(Excerpted and adapted from )