Parties promise not to reduce PSE funding in province
FREDERICTON (CUP) — As political parties in New Brunswick handed down their platforms in the wake of the looming provincial election, student leaders in the province are calling on politicians to make post-secondary education a central issue.
“No one is taking as strong a stance as we’d like to see,” said Sam Gregg-Wallace, president of the New Brunswick Student Alliance. “[Education] is the only guaranteed return on investment in a time of recession. Our province will benefit greatly from an increase invested in post-secondary education.”
The four main political parties in the provinces tabled their platforms for post-secondary education in recent weeks.
There’s no common theme among the PSE platforms, which are available on the party websites.
The NDP is the only party who has pledged to extend the tuition freeze students in the province currently enjoy, which is set to expire at the end of this school year.
The Green Party has said it will eliminate interest rates on provincial student loans, while the Progressive Conservatives have said they’ll introduce a four-year tuition schedule so students can plan for the cost of their education.
If elected, the Liberals and the Greens have both promised they’ll lower the debt cap from $26,000 to $24,000 and $20,000, respectively.
Officially called the Timely Competition Benefit, the dept cap — introduced in 2009 — only applies to students who complete their program in the allocated time frame set out by their school.
There is an appeals process for students who take longer to graduate, said Ella Henry, president of the St. Thomas University students’ union, but the eligibility restrictions are too stringent.
“What we have with the current program is that the criteria leaves out a large number of graduating students,” said Henry. “There are huge numbers of reasons why students, very legitimately, take longer than four years to complete school, that wouldn’t be encompassed by the appeals program.”
For example, student who juggle multiple jobs, or switch majors and need to take extra courses or an extra semester, aren’t eligible under the current program, Henry said.
Shannon Carmont-McKinley, president of the students’ union at the University of New Brunswick, told the Brunswickan she’d like to see a extra year tagged on to the debt cap, so more students can access it.
“Most students don’t complete their degrees on time, just because there is so much going on and in order to really maximize your experience, it’s better to take an extra year in many situations, “ she said.
The Timely Completion Benefit is not retroactive.
Gregg-Wallace, who also acts as the president of the students’ union at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., said he’s confident student voices won’t fall on deaf ears when a new government is formed after the Sept. 29 vote, despite the province’s debt load being a major concern.
“None of the parties have said, ‘We’re going to reduce funding even though we’re trying to cut spending,’” he said.
