|
| |
|
|
|
Liberal minister needs to be educated |
|
|
|
Written by Citizen Staff
|
|
Sunday, 06 April 2008 |
I have a biased interest in educational issues not because I am a professor at UNBC, but because I live in British Columbia and I believe in the future of this province.
I want to see my children afforded every opportunity to pursue their educational goals. I want to see all children given the opportunity to gain an education. Heck, I think it is important that adults even have the chance to engage in "life-long learning."
After all, education is our future.
So, it is disappointing to see the B.C. Liberal government table a budget that shows a surplus at the end of the year and yet cuts spending on advanced education. Wait a minute, cries Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell, we aren't cutting spending. We are just not giving the institutions as much as we promised them last year.
Fair enough, but read what he actually said in the legislature last Tuesday.
The first question to Coell was posed by advanced education critic Rob Fleming. To paraphrase, given the condemnation of the budget decision to claw back a 2.6-per-cent increase by the boards, presidents, students and faculty at the colleges and universities, he asked, shouldn't the minister honour his previous commitment?
Minister Coell replied: "Only the NDP would see a $38-million increase in my budget as a cut."
Ah, but that kind of misses the point, Mr. Minister. Increasing your budget doesn't mean an increase in the money passed on to the universities and colleges. And even if that money is passed through, is it enough to keep up with government promises and commitments made on behalf of the institutions?
Under then-Advanced Education Minister Shirley Bond, the B.C. Liberals committed to increasing the number of spaces and the number of students afforded an opportunity to get a post-secondary education a few years ago. It was a move widely applauded - provided that funding would be available. The commitment was made on behalf of the government that it would be.
Yet, here we are with a new minister who a mere 12 months ago promised the money, only to have it pulled back at the last minute. A $38-million increase is nothing to sneeze at, but is it enough to do the government-mandated job?
More interesting, in reading Hansard, Minister Coell then said "I repeat for the member: a $68-million increase in budget is not a cut."
Hold on a second. A minute ago, in question period, the increase was $38 million and suddenly it is $68 million? How did that happen?
If it was $38 million and is now $68 million, everyone will be a bit happier. But it should have been $127 million. Getting $68 million will mean that we have only half of the promised increase from last year, resulting in layoffs and cutbacks - not the grow in the system that was promised.
The $38-million figure was a mistake, one that the minister didn't even realize that he had made. Not a good sign.
A little later, in response to questions about CNC and UNBC from Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson, Coell said - again from Hansard - "I think there's a new campus in Quesnel, in that member's riding. I think there's a new medical school at UNBC."
"I think"? I would hope that as minister, Mr. Coell would "know" that there is a new campus in Quesnel that supports both CNC and UNBC. And I would hope that he would know that there is a UBC medical program offered in conjunction with UNBC. This is stuff that he should know without question.
Reading Hansard leads one to believe that Coell does not have a grasp of the university and college system - of advanced education - in B.C. For example, he doesn't realize that there were new nursing spaces added in the 1990s right here in Prince George. Nor does he seem to understand the difference between capital projects and operating grants. He repeatedly points to the building that has occurred on campuses without understanding that buildings do not an institution make.
Indeed, Minister Coell is a bit like a father coming home without money for groceries but pointing out that he did buy a new plasma screen television -- great to have but not much use when you are starving to death.
As a final comment, in response to further questions from Katrine Conroy, Minister Coell finished by saying: "As I said, every institution, every college, every university in this province is getting an increase in their budget this year - a 68-per-cent increase in their budget this year."
Really? I'll bet everyone will be glad to hear that there will be an extra billion dollars in the system instead of the cutbacks we are all facing. And when I say "we", I do mean everyone in this province, because education is our future.
Dr. Todd Whitcombe is a professor at UNBC and a politically active member of the community. His column appears Mondays. E-mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 |
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 October 2008 )
|
|
|
Who's Online
We have 205 guests and 11 members online
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
