Merger proposal begins consultation process - Empey

18 April 2008

Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey, has said that the proposal to merge Queen’s University and Stranmillis University College was the first stage of a consultation process.

The Minister said: “I welcome the fact that Queen’s and Stranmillis have now created firm proposals for the future and I look forward to receiving these.  Legislation requires that the proposals will now be presented to the Department for approval.  My officials will be meeting shortly with senior Stranmillis and QUB representatives to discuss the detail of the proposed merger.

“We will be consulting with a variety of interested parties, including the Employment and Learning Committee, on this proposal and any others which may emerge.  Only when this process is complete will final action be taken.”

The Minister added: “The future of teacher education is an extremely important issue for us and we will work with our university colleges and teacher education providers to ensure that the quality of new teachers remains high and that the supply of teachers meets future demands.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

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