Post-Secondary Education loses more ground in 2013 BC Budget

VICTORIA: —“The Minister of Finance has acknowledged what just about every reporter in the budget lock-up is saying,” said George Davison, Secretary Treasurer of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators, “his government’s credibility on budget issues is in terrible shape and this budget does little to change that problem,” Davison added.

“Making matters worse, the Minster’s budget shows no real plan for either the next twelve months or for the three years that is part of his forecast scope,” Davison noted.  “Post-secondary education should be a key priority for this government.  It is a critical building block for a modern economy, but none of that priority is reflected in the budget.  Operating grants to post-secondary institutions, the key funding investment that BC makes in post-secondary education, will decline over the next twelve months.  So too will capital expenditures made by the Minister of Advanced Education.  These trend lines speak volumes about how this budget is ignoring post-secondary education,” Davison stressed.

“The only increase that we see in this budget is in the area of tuition fees; the budget forecasts tuition fee revenues to rise by almost $100 million over the next three years,” said Davison.  “Affordability is a huge problem for post-secondary students and this budget does nothing to address that problem,” Davison noted.

“The government’s proposed BC Training and Education Savings Program is a cynical move; it is a measure that assumes average families have the capacity to save for their children’s education, an assumption that only fits a minority of families in BC,” Davison emphasized.

“The budget’s credibility will no doubt be a major focus over the next several weeks and much of the information in this document will do little to reassure British Columbians that the Minister or his government are on the right track,” Davison concluded.

Click here for a backgrounder on the 2013 budget.