Affordable education key to future
By Adrian Dix
Yesterday, I met with Okanagan college and university students, some who attend my alma mater, the University of British Columbia. While certain things remain constant about the university experience, there have been significant changes that leave today's students grappling with far tougher challenges than the ones I faced during my campus days.
The cost of post-secondary education is one such obstacle.
When I attended UBC, the cost of my education was manageable. Now, students face tuition that has doubled over the past decade, greater than the rate of inflation. And despite many of them also working to pay for their schooling, students, upon graduation, face an average debt of $27,000 -- among the highest in the nation.
Providing young people from middle- and lower-income backgrounds the opportunity to build their knowledge and skills so they can succeed at their goals is a primary way government can improve the level of prosperity in B.C.
With income disparity rising in the province - government figures show B.C. has the worst level of after-tax income inequality second to Alberta -- promoting advanced education should be a policy priority. University and college program graduates on average earn more.
But the rising cost of post secondary is leaving young people at a disadvantage and putting B.C. at risk economically.
Studies are identifying high upfront costs and subsequent debt as the two primary financial obstacles to starting and completing post secondary. More and more young British Columbians and vulnerable workers seeking to upgrade their skills, are being forced to make choices that involve deferring the higher education they need to realize their ambitions, or assuming loans at a time when they can least afford to borrow money. Escalating tuition and fees are also affecting completion rates. Research from the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation shows a negative relationship between the level of debt and students' ability to pursue their studies. An increasing proportion of students across B.C. campuses are reducing their course loads so they can work more hours to help cover higher education costs.
The debt accumulated during their first years of study can also force many students to interrupt their studies midstream.
Rising income inequality also undermines access. More and more of the tax burden has been shifted onto middle and working income households. As a result, the cost of advanced education is now greater for these families.
The B.C. economy, especially at this juncture, cannot afford these obstacles to higher education. Our competitiveness and future growth depend on people pursuing advanced education.
The B.C. business community ranks a tightening labour market, characterized by a shortage of skilled, highly knowledgeable workers, as one of its top concerns. A cross-section of industry leaders -- forestry, high-tech, energy -- have all raised the need to address the looming labour shortage during meetings with me.
The government's own labour market projections forecast close to 80 per cent of future jobs will require a level of post-secondary education, and jobs requiring degrees or certification are growing at twice the rate of other employment. Analysis prepared by the B.C. Business Council predicts some regions of the province may experience a labour crunch within the next two years that threatens to postpone projects and investment.
For B.C. to stave off a deepening labour shortage, students need to be enrolling in post-secondary programs now, and completing them in a timely manner: many occupations require graduate studies or professional certification following a bachelor's degree.
The level of innovation and entrepreneurism is also linked to post-secondary studies. Graduate students produce research, generate applications, and attract investment and expertise critical to increasing B.C.'s ability to compete in a knowledge-based economy.
Since last September, Michelle Mungall, the New Democrat critic for advanced education and labour market development, and I have been advocating for the Liberal government to adopt our proposal to re-establish a non-repayable student grants program. Reintroducing needs-based grants has a natural place in a viable economic and jobs growth plan for the province. Studies show by lowering the level of debt and addressing upfront financial need, grants improve graduation rates -- a key to mitigating a skill shortage this decade.
There is a solid case for the government to use the coming February budget to reinstate the needs-based grant program it eliminated in 2004. New Democrats will welcome such an announcement. If it does not materialize, a New Democrat government under my leadership will proceed to restore the program, funded by a minimum tax on large profitable financial institutions.
We know this critical investment in the talents of young British Columbians and our workforce will benefit our province.
Originally published in the Kelowna Daily Courier, February 2, 2012.
