Jim Devine, chairman of the Council of Directors of the Institutes of Technology and director of the Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire, says that some of the public is aware of the quality, accessibility and flexibility offered by the institutes of technology. "The trouble is, the public is still not as aware as we would like it to be and that is a challenge we aim to take up, " he adds.

The survey was commissioned by the National Partnership Forum for the Institutes of Technology , , a joint union/management group with membership made up of senior managers and union officials.

A little over half of those surveyed (55pc) were aware that institutes award nationally recognised qualifications;

35pc knew they award internationally recognised qualifications; only 42pc were aware of the honours degree courses offered by institutes;

and a mere 14pc were aware of the contribution being made by the institutes at postgraduate level.

Marian Coy, director of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, is not surprised by the findings. "The survey was not targeted at school leavers and their parents, " she says. "People are interested in these matters at different times in their lives."