Kee welcomes Magee extension

She described news that the Minister for Employment and Learning had found the money to build the new extension at Magee as “a very positive step forward”.

However, she said local people may be left scratching their heads at the twists and turns of the story.

“Last July planning permission was granted for the extension to the Magee campus which has been estimated as costing £11 million,” she said.

“However, since then there has been one budget crisis after another and the plan to expand Magee has been left up in the air.

“It was said that expansion was off the table and then we were told in February that Ulster University is to axe more than 50 courses because of the budget cuts.

“What really matters going forward is that there are sufficient, popular course options at Magee which will give people skills and increase employability.

“There is no point in having a new shiny extension if there are no undergraduate courses being delivered there.

“It is also confusing that this announcement comes at the same time as funding for delivering training in the community is being cut everywhere by the Department for Employment and Learning.”