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March 4th to March 18th, 1982:

The Other Press

Page 9

Dear M.L.A.: This is a collective invi-

‘| tation to every Member of

the Legislative Assembly of B.C. who sits as the elected representative of anyone whose plans for post secondary education include a college, a pro- vincial institute or a univer- sity or any: combination of these. The number of such people in any riding may range from a few to many thousands but your decis- ions will determine their future. This non-political invitation is directed to every member of the legis- lature without regard for party, titles, portfolios, cri- tic responsibilities or back bencher status.

have been given your name, your constituency address and whatever bio- graphical information could be assembled. On behalf of students, staff and per haps administrators, board members and the public, faculty representatives will contact you and ask that, sometime in February

is called, you visit the insti-

‘} tution that serves your

riding and see and hear first hand what the con- cerns are. You will not be given a quick tour of the facilities and tea in the

boardroom. What faculty, students and others will want from you is time and open discussion - an op- portunity to give you their concerns. They want to en- sure that you are fully in- formed. They want to give you an opportunity to state publicly what you are wil- ling to do as their repre- sentative. It would be an impressive event if you

made the initial overtures to the institution on the

basis of this open invi-

\e

tation without waiting: If

Faculty in the college or institute in your region

before the Spring session.

An open letter to _ every MLA in British Columbia

you want to take advantage of such a forum to inform the larger community of your stance the media will be advised.

The reasons for the in- vitation are very precise.

“When you return to Victoria

for’ the next sessions, among your many respon- sibilities you will be asked to debate and vote on the Education estimates that

will be presented by the Minister of Education Brian Smith. Included in those estimates will be the funds to be allocated for the’ operation of those colleges and institutes that are de- signed to serve someof the educational needs of people you represent. Are you aware that Mr. smith

has repeatedly asserted that ,

the financial support to post secondary institutions for 1982-83 will be cut back? The only permis- sible interpretation of his statements is that institu- tional budgets will be sig- nificantly less than required to meet the educational needs in your constituency. What will that mean to the people you represent? What will happen to those whose educational progress must beinterrupted or diverted to other goals or whose needs cannot be met by the college in their community? The future of post secondary education in this province will be laid on the line during this next sessions. Your clear responsibility is to be fully informed so that you can work towards a better fu- ture than has been project- ed in recent months by the Ministry of Education and by the government of this province.

No one needs to be re- minded that the economy is in a recession, that empoy- ment opportunities are de- creasing and that the cost

-grading.

of living is increasing.

Perhaps you didn’t know that student registrations are also incresing -- not be- cause jobless students seek a warm place out of the winter wind but because they are mature enough to knew that an investment in =e will give greater

file are | i eNVE qr

by iis)

eS NCC job security and satisfac- tion in the future. And per- haps you didn’t realize that increasing numbers of stu- dents will be turned away in the future because of cutbacks or the elimination of those programs and’ courses that were part of their career plan. At a time when any investment in learning will undeniably pay better dividends than B.R.1I.C., opportunities should not be denied.

Mr. Smith has stated that first priority must be given to employment-oriented programs which provide entry-level or higher-level skills and occupational up- If that priority is in response to student need, Mr. Smith cannot be challenged. If is pcssible however that Mr. Smith is responding primarily to the demands of the labour mar- ket and thereby forcing students to modify their educational goals to match industgrial need. No one can argue the common

-sense of providing skill

ee wale et Ir ip

To my learned Friend

training to meet specific industry needs whatever the unemployment picture. But are you aware that that priority can be accom-

plished under conditions of”

a reduced budget only by cutting back on or termin- ating some other vocational, career or Beneral education

Ty)...

pontame? Peter and Mary must indeed be robbed to pay Paul. If education must serve two masters, the marketplace“and the people, it must serve both masters equally.

In Mr. Smith’s list of priorities, he asserts that training in electronics, heavy duty mechanics, welding, computer tech- nology, nursing and other programs have both strong student demand and visible employment potential. But what of other progrms that are less visibly employment oriented? Surely no one needs to impress you with the fact that although other technical and voca- tional programs or the study of people, politics, history, economics, art, lit- erature, or science may not lead as directly to specific employment as skill train- ing, they form part of a general education that pro- vides a wider ranging employment opportunity that is the primary moti- vator for many students.

goals.

-.understand the financial

-(Vancouver) of

Budget cutbacks mean pro- gram cutbacks. Program cutbacks mean that the door to the institution will be closed to many students. If the argument is presen- ted that the cutbacks in institutional budgets must be made up from increased students’ fees, your only

rebuttal is that the end result will be a decrease in number of students and a reducation of revenue from that source. But the real loss will not be in revenue but in the failure to provide students with the right to reach their educational

Yes - education is expen- sive and it always will be if we consider people as our most important resource. (The bumper _ sticker philosophy that states ‘‘If you think education is ex- pensive - try ignorance’ has a disconcerting ring of realism.) Few people

mumble - grab - and grumble game that pro-: vincial politicians play with Ottawa. No student whose educational expectations are not met will be content with an explanation that Ottawa failed to pay. If your colleagues argue that faculty salaries are the reason that educational costs are increasing, be prepared to inform them that the average salary increase in colleges and institutes for 1981 was 12.25 percent - in line with the average CPI 14.29 percent, and with the CPI (All Canada) of 12.3 percent less than the 15.1 percent average in the B.C. private sector, less than-many set- tlements in the public sector and certainly less than the embarrassing 28.5 percent of 13 months that B.C MLAs received. Thai's our invitation to you - to visit, talk and take a public stand. Unfortunately, it has the earmarks of an assignment

and it is, in a sense.” I: don’t think you will be given a letter grade

immediately following your visit but, even in politics all asignments are evalua- ted - eventually.

Yours truly,

Gordon A.M. Bigenton ‘President

College-Institute Educators’ Association of B.C.