UU’s Magee Campus in Derry
Councillor Tierney was speaking after attending a Hume Foundation event on higher education in the North-West of Ireland in the city on Tuesday.
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.
It is expected the number will rise with the transfer of students from University of Ulster’s Jordanstown campus to the city.
Said Cllr Tierney: “Throughout our existence the SDLP has been fighting to establish a properly resourced university in Derry that will provide our city with the third level education centre it deserves while allowing young people in this area to study and reach their full potential without having to travel elsewhere for greater opportunities.
“The figures around the concentration of students in Belfast shows the scale of the challenge ahead of us when campaigning for proper university provision in our city, with even more student places transferring to Belfast in the last few weeks.
“We have been working with everyone, from the University of Ulster to the Department for the Economy to address these long-standing issues and all too often the response has been far from good enough.
“Today’s Hume Foundation event showcased the potential that exists for a cross-border university in Derry that can serve the entire North-West of our island.
“It would be transformative for our city, attracting people to Derry, creating jobs, boosting our economy and tackling the brain drain that has caused so much hurt and damage to this area. The potential is there, we just need the political will to make it a reality.”
Magee campus at the Ulster University in Derry
“SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood insisted that a commitment to 10,000 students be included in the New Decade, New Approach agreement and after years of hard work we saw the medical school open at Magee last year.
“Despite these commitments we continue to see student numbers at Magee falling and we believe that to truly address this issue we need to see the abolishment of the MaSN cap which has hamstrung repeated attempts to increase student numbers.
“This fight for a properly resourced university in Derry has been going on far too long and we need to see both the British and Irish Governments live up their commitments and work with any new Assembly and Executive to make these plans a reality.”
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