{"id":9836,"date":"2014-02-13T09:24:14","date_gmt":"2014-02-13T17:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/?p=9836"},"modified":"2014-02-13T09:24:14","modified_gmt":"2014-02-13T17:24:14","slug":"cuts-to-english-language-learning-programs-in-bced-highered-caut-edstudies-ubc-ubced-bcpoli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/2014\/02\/cuts-to-english-language-learning-programs-in-bced-highered-caut-edstudies-ubc-ubced-bcpoli\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuts to English language learning programs in #BCed #highered #caut #edstudies #ubc #ubced #bcpoli"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cindy Oliver, CAUT Bulletin<\/em><\/a>, January 2014–\u00a0English Language Training (ELT) programs play an increasingly critical role in Canada\u2019s post-secondary institutions as the diversity and complexity of our student population changes, and with it, the need to address those changes with programs that strengthen language proficiency. Although post-secondary education is primarily a provincial responsibility, the federal government plays a crucial role in the funding of ELT programs across the country. And it\u2019s the looming cuts to the federal government\u2019s contribution to those programs that has united British Columbia\u2019s student organizations and the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators to pressure governments to take a different approach.<\/p>\n

On Dec. 16, the federation, along with the BC division of the Canadian Federation of Students held a press conference at the Vancouver Community College\u2019s (VCC) downtown Vancouver campus to announce plans to launch a province-wide campaign to pressure the federal and provincial governments to protect the funding arrangement that sees close to $20 million in federal funding flow through BC\u2019s Ministry of Advanced Education to support a range of ELT programs in BC institutions.<\/p>\n

It was no coincidence the press conference was held at the Vancouver campus of VCC; it is the largest provider of ELT programs in western Canada. It\u2019s a role that VCC has excelled at for more than 40 years. And it has become something of a professional hub for a growing number of international students who have come to Canada to begin a new life, but need to strengthen their English language skills to ensure they can fully participate in their new country.<\/p>\n

On hand for the press conference was Saeideh Ghassarifar, a foreign trained doctor who enrolled at VCC after immigrating to Canada from Iran. During media interviews, Ghassarifar pointed out she has an extensive educational background in her chosen field \u2014 she has three degrees, including a PhD in health care education \u2014 but she recognizes that her English language skills need to be much stronger. As she said in one interview, \u201cas a doctor I need to understand and be understood when I am dealing with patients.\u201d For her, the VCC English language programs are critical to her ultimate success in this country.<\/p>\n

However, the very programs Ghassarifar accesses at VCC are under threat if the federal government moves ahead with its plans to withdraw funding currently in place under a long-standing federal-provincial settlement services agreement. It is through that agreement that BC receives close to $20 million in federal funding that eventually works its way into ELT programs at institutions like VCC. The change to the settlement program in BC, if it goes ahead as announced, would take effect on April 1, 2014.<\/p>\n

The federal government\u2019s rationale for cutting the funding makes no sense. Prime Minister Stephen Harper\u2019s austerity rhetoric has permeated every aspect of life in Canada, from oversight of the environment to the muzzling of federal government researchers and scientists. In every case, Harper\u2019s approach has been to diminish the capacity of government to provide information and services that would fulfill the federal government\u2019s part of the social contract with Canadians, a contract that should respect our rights as citizens while ensuring sustainable and balanced growth is shared. During his ten\u00adure as Prime Minister we have seen no evidence that he intends to keep up his side of the contract.<\/p>\n

Just as troubling, however, is that Harper\u2019s reneging on the $20 million in funding for BC programs comes at a time when the pro\u00advincial government\u2019s commitment to post-secondary education has come under enormous pressure. For most of the past 12 years, core funding of BC\u2019s public institutions, like in many other provinces, has simply not kept pace with the demands of increased enrolment or system-wide cost pressures. Add in the fact that government policy shifts that have allowed tuition fees to skyrocket over that same period \u2014 in BC the average undergraduate tuition fee has more than doubled \u2014 and the pressures on access and affordability have simply added more barriers to the education that government, business leaders and the broader community all know are critical to our collective success as both a province and a country. Notably, the BC Business Council \u2014 hardly a left-wing think tank \u2014 has pointed out on numerous occasions that 75 per cent of all new jobs in BC will require some form of post-secondary education (a degree, diploma, certificate or completed apprenticeship). The council notes that currently only two-thirds of BC\u2019s labour force has that education.<\/p>\n

The cuts in funding for English language programs are a step backwards. They will hurt students, the very people that BC and Canada need to support and encourage. Our campaign will focus on their stories and highlight the urgent need to keep ELT funding in place. Working together with allies and the broader community we are confident we can make a difference.<\/p>\n

Cindy Oliver is president of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Read More: CAUT Bulletin<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cindy Oliver, CAUT Bulletin, January 2014–\u00a0English Language Training (ELT) programs play an increasingly critical role in Canada\u2019s post-secondary institutions as the diversity and complexity of our student population changes, and with it, the need to address those changes with programs … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1527,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[747,2250,406501,2251,125,2257,2258,635,2260,2270,2273,2275,2276],"tags":[1288941,1288948,1288949,1288922,2407,1288961,1288963,1288964],"class_list":["post-9836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academics","category-advocacy","category-bc-education","category-budgets-funding","category-diversity","category-employment-rights","category-equity","category-government","category-job-market","category-solidarity","category-students","category-unions","category-working-conditions","tag-budgets-funding","tag-equity","tag-ethics","tag-faculty","tag-layoffs","tag-students","tag-unions","tag-working-conditions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1527"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9837,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9836\/revisions\/9837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/workplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}