Dear Sir:
As you may already know, the provincial government is due to release the 2015 budget today. With the government having forecast a $444 million surplus in November 2014, it has come as a surprise to me that the BC Liberals have proposed further funding cuts to education: this time, to adult high school completion.
Until now, the provincial government has funded high school courses offered at colleges and universities to allow students to earn their high school diploma outside of the K-12 system and to complete courses they require to enter their desired programs free of charge.
Under the BC Liberals’ new model, colleges and universities must fund high school course offerings independently. In the case of Northwest Community College, this change means that students will be charged tuition for and potentially denied access to the education they need to earn the most basic credential they need to find employment, let alone to enter any of the programs offered at the institution. How can a government that prides itself in a Skills for Jobs blueprint deny its people the education they need to work in any of the job openings created?
Reilly Walker, Education Councillor,
Northwest Community College, Terrace, B.C.