Letters to the Editor

Students shouldn’t have to go into debt and work two jobs to study at MUN

The recent increases in tuition fees at Memorial University is cause for a review of our post-Secondary institutes mandate to include a more realistic and fuller understanding of today’s workplace and the challenges facing our student population.

The introduction of technology and automation in the workplace is unprecedented and has not been considered to a great extent by the education system. The loss of semi-skilled and low skilled jobs is being replaced by technology solutions and that transition is gaining momentum every day. As someone who was involved in the post-secondary system for many years, I am appalled at the barriers existing today for students needing to pursue a career focused education.

The daily discussion about the future direction of our province is generally characterized by a naive and ill-conceived belief that by staying the course it will all work out in the longer term. Not so. It won’t happen without a more aggressive and realistic understanding of the changes occurring in our social and economic community. To put this in perspective, the mandatory level of education hasn’t changed in 50 years even though employers need and are demanding as a minimum a post-secondary education. It is not possible, with some exceptions, to obtain career type employment without some level of post-secondary education.

While the level of participation in post-secondary education has increased in recent years, some 30-35 per cent of student populations are not availing of post-secondary education due in a large part to the high cost and related barriers to obtaining the necessary skills to find life sustaining employment. Common sense tells us that education is the long-term key to solving many of our inherent challenges such as high unemployment rates, unacceptable levels of poverty and continuing dependence on social support programs. It’s time to get out of the way and provide the incentives and supports that provide the required help to our students who certainly appear to be willing and able to succeed.

It has to start with a realization that it is no longer acceptable to expect students to borrow money and take on several jobs to pay tuition fees. Unfortunately, this has become an acceptable practice and it’s repugnant for our leadership to attempt to justify this lack of fairness. It’s time for a review of the governance mandate and management practices of MUN, with an objective of being a more student focused university while adopting the philosophy that the student is the most important thing we do. While I have been in the past a long-time advocate of the elimination of tuition fees, it is probably not possible in the shorter term. However, steps can be taken to help alleviate the downloading of costs to our students. Firstly, we need to support our students and demand that MUN review and decrease the recent exorbitant increase in fees for local students and absorb some of these costs by reviewing their higher than acceptable administrative costs. According to the President of MUN, student tuition fees will more than double beginning in the fall of 2022 and that further increases can be expected in the next 2-3 years.

Secondly a most immediate step would involve the elimination of fees for first year students, allowing these students, if successful, to adjust and prepare for the challenges of continuing on. Thirdly, and perhaps most important, consideration should be given to studying the practicality of establishing a basic mandatory one or two post-secondary education program consisting of the essential course components of continuing on to further studies.

While I would expect pushback on these timely and more progressive ideas with the usual response that we can’t afford or don’t need this type of reform, let me say we have no choice if we want to grow our economy and be amongst the best educated societies in the country. I am impressed by the growth of new businesses led by highly educated young entrepreneurs. How many more opportunities like this could happen if we open the door wide and let our young and eager students capitalize on and participate in the opportunities our province has to offer?

I cannot accept the current policy that a post-secondary education depends on a student’s capacity to pay unfair tuition fees. Surely, we are capable of ensuring that each one of us are prepared to be net contributors to our province. We can be the best educated people in our country. To achieve this, we must be more creative and break down the many traditional barriers facing our students. It can be done; our students are ready; let’s get out of their way. I spoke to a post-secondary student recently who has a student loan plus two jobs in order to pay their high tuition fees. Is this who we are as a society? It’s important to recognize our post-secondary institutes as our most valuable resource that certainly have and will continue to be a major contributor to our collective objective of achieving a stronger and more sustainable province, socially and economically.

Vince Withers

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