B.C. Government Increases Funding For Student Grants

Liberals pledge millions for adult basic education, students with dependants

VANESSA LUNDGREN THE MARTLET (UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA)

VICTORIA (CUP) — In an effort to promote education for all, $4 million will be added to grants for adult students enrolled in developmental programs and to students with dependants, the B.C. government announced in July.

Students enrolled at public postsecondary institutions taking developmental programs — adult basic education (ABE), English as a second language and special education programs for those with disabilities — will receive $1 million of the funding. This boost will help cover costs of books, supplies and tuition, and will be given in the form of needs-based grants.

The remaining $3 million will assist in loan reductions to students with dependants through the province’s student loan-reduction program.

“With this additional funding, learners will have more support to get the education they need to participate in B.C.’s booming economy,” said Premier Gordon Campbell in a statement.

“These funding increases, along with the new spaces we’re adding at post-secondary institutions across the province, make it a great time to get an education in B.C.,” added Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell.

While Scott Payne, B.C. president of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS-BC), is pleased with the funding increase, he said that the impacts of tuition increases and cuts in support services are being overlooked by Coell.

“I believe it’s a vital time to get an education for students in B.C. and Canada,” said Payne. “More than 70 per cent of jobs require post-secondary education.”

CFS-BC is also recommending the elimination of tuition fees for ABE courses at colleges, allowing students on income assistance to pursue postsecondary education, and reinstating the B.C. Grants Program, axed by the provincial government in 2004.

The ABE program is designed for adults wishing to complete their high school education. Academic upgrading courses are offered through school districts and public community colleges, often with hours tailored to work around work schedules.

Students have the option to choose between going through the school district or a local community college to upgrade their education.

According to the government, 26,846 students were enrolled in adult basic education at B.C. high schools last year.

While the courses are tuition-free in high schools, this is not usually the case in colleges, where a course could cost up to $400, according to Payne. This can seem financially “insurmountable,” he said, thereby creating a barrier to education.

Students are also responsible for covering such costs as application fees, ancillary fees and, as sometimes needed, assessment fees. Transportation and childcare costs are also often added to the bill. All of these expenses are not covered by the grants.

Access to basic education is necessary and should not have a price to it, Payne said. CFS-BC identified ABE students as “B.C.’s most vulnerable post-secondary students.”

Often, they “come from lower socio- economic backgrounds — people least able to pay those fees,” Payne said.

Many ABE students had dropped out of high school, or if they stuck with it, they did so with barely passing grades, he said. They often enter academic upgrading programs such as ABE struggling to make ends meet for themselves and often for their family too.

Payne said the removal of tuition fees for basic education would increase access to education and enable these students to become “productive citizens, who can provide for themselves.”