Colleges In Crisis Most people in Brisish Columbia are aware that there is a financial and philosophical crisis facing education. Less well known is that this crisis is as eritical for community colleges as it is for grades: ° 1 to 12. The current. government is not only drastically curtailing financial support for col- _ leges, it is also in the process of imposing philos- ophies of education which were outdated 40 years types of education that do not have a direct economic/industrial/occupational _ application. This demonstrates that the Ministry has relied on a very narrow and simplistic concept of education -one that reflects little knowledge of the purpose and achievement of the community colleges in B.C. The Ministry's approach does not even meet Centralized Decision Making The proposed college system in this five-year plan is one which requires centralized decision- making authority. Roles of individual institutions will be defined by Victoria. Centralized Ministry direction will replace local/community decision- the stated needs of employers who want employ- makin ago when they were last tried and failed, at the ees who have both the skills and the Geneal o beginning of the last depression, In fact, the education needed to cope with modern business, The Crucial Issues Ministry of Education has unleashed a five year plan* which is a blueprint for the destruction of the Supa community college. Under the guise of a néed for fiscal restraint, local control of the community college has been systematically reduced. In its place a remote, centralized bur- eaucracy will act as ‘“‘Big Brother’’ and will dic- tate both what will be ofr and how it will be made available. Narrow Manpower Focus The Ministry’s five-year plan emphasizes occu- pational and manpower development. In itself this commitment is fine, but it is made at the expense of programs serving individual, social and general educational needs. The priority placed upon career and vocational programs is violated by a lack of commitment to quality, comprehensive- ness and accessibility. Attack on General Education The five-year plan consistantly downgrades all industry and society. And of course, in regarding the student as primarily an economic being, the five year plan ignores the personal and social life which is inseparable from the individual's economic role. Community Participation Downgraded The Ministry plan also seeks to create a Province-wide system which will undermine the former ideal of the community-based college. This change will eee the central role of the community and will inevitably reduce accessibility for residents of particular college regions. Not only will accessibility be reduced, comprehensive- ness will be eliminated except for ‘‘priority programs’’, which by the Ministry’s definition will be career-related or vocational. The original purpose of community colleges was, in part, to reduce inequality of opportunity in a province of significant social, economic, and geo- graphical disparities. The five year plan will re- verse this initial goal. _ The proposed redefinition of the role of colleges in B.C. is occurring at a time when limited resources are shrinking even further. This makes it even more critical to debate what to do with these limited funds, rather than allowing the Ministry of Education to tell us what it is going to do with our taxes. Any college system which hopes to be successful over the long haul cannot simply serve narrow and short-term ends. It is possible to serve economic and industrial goals in the context of broader personal, social, and cul- - tural needs and with a primary orientation to- wards the community. The page of education must continue to relate to all of a person’s life, not just her role in the economy. *If you are able to suffer bureaucratic prose, see the Integrated Five Year Plannin Sor the British Columbia College and Institute System; Part 1. System Objectives 1982-1987. Steaming Getting better What CutbacksHave Cost the College Community 1. At Douglas College the loss of the equivalent of 25 full-time instructors. are now enrolled. The Progress of College Education? Education And Unemployment Unemployment rate for all Canada, 15 - 24 years: I 2. The courses these instructors were teaching. are July 1981 July 1982 r z 3. The students who wished to enrol in these courses. Grade 8 20.3 33.9 Some Highschool 13.0 20.9 4. Over 635 students have been unable to enrol in 924 courses this spring alone. Some Post-Secondary T.8 =: 14.2 cube College Diploma ay 13.6 5. This Spring, 1197 students requested student numbers but only 614 of these University Degree 6.8 10.1 Dr. Zigmind, Statistics Canada, concludes from this data that the more education one has, the better the chance of getting and keeping a job. ; These figures illustrate what is meant by the loss of access to education and they are just the beginning. Source: D.K.F.A. files and College Enrolment Report. SP