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"B.C's attitude defies logic"
An Education Tragedy

"If the provincial government wants
to mortgage the future of B.C.'s
young people and make the province
an educational backwater it is going
about it the right way."

Strongpublic statements criticizing
political leaders are seldom heard
from members of the academic
community but Dr. Robert Walker, a
professor of education at Simon
Fraser University, believes it is
time academics spoke out. "We have
to impress on the politicians, and
the general public, that policies
directed at education under the guise
of restraint are counter-productive
ecomomically and dangerously short-
sighted socially."

Walker says money seems to be at the
root of most policies introduced in
B.C. in recent years and that educa-
tion cutbacks have come about

system costs too much. "Of course
the term ‘too much" is subjective
but it is rather enlightening to
show who really foots the bill for
higher education in B.C.

"Hver since 1976 when the federal

my for the disbursement of transfer
payments to education and health the
province has allocated less and less
resources to both jurisdictions.
provincial trend of giving less to
post-secondary education acutally
Started as far back as 1969.

for B.C.'s universities, colleges,
the Open Learning Institute and the
Knowledge Network were about $538.6
million. Federal contributions
totalled $477.7 million or about

89 per cent, while the province

ostensibly because the post-secondary

government gave the provinces autono-

The

"For 1984-85, for example, the budgets

7

cent What's more, while Ottawa has
increased it contributions by $57.6
million since 1982 the province has.
reduced post-secondary funding by 47.7
million over the same period. Do
provincial policy makers believe they
should bear no responsibility for
supporting post-secondary education?’

Walker, a music educator who became
involved in education finance research
to lobby federal candidates on behalf
of the university's faculty associa-
tion, says the province's manipula-
tion of federal funds for education
and health is not lost on federal
politicians. "During the recent
campaign Conservative candidate Pat
Carney said the re-allocation of
funds by the province is 'disgracefil’.
She said she would press for a re-
negotiation of the transfer agreement
and that if the province doesn't use
the money properly the funds could be
eut off.”

Noting that the use of statistic
only valuable to show that post-
secondary education is not a burden
on B.C. taxpayers, Walker says the
real tragedy of education cutbacks
are the effects they have on people,
particulary the young.

"Do the people of B.C. know, for
example, that we have the lowest
university participation rate in
Canada for the 18 to 24 age group,
9.1 per cent compared the national
average of 13.4 per cent. And this
at a time when the unemployment rate
for this age group is running between
30 and 50 per cent.

"Are people aware that B.C. has the
harshest student financial aid
program in North America, that it is
the only province to abolish grants
and tuition fees have increased more
than 100 per cent since 1981, that a
young person in Ontario is twice as
likely to earn a degree as one in
BoC. ¢

 

 

 

contributed $60.9 million or 11 per