OK, Lemonheads… the votes are in, the polls are closed, and 80% of you have said: tuition hikes in this economic situation are not a good idea!
Now, that means that 20% of you said “it’s OK”. To be fair, I received some good comments… Canada’s education system is a steal, and since the rates of education have not skyrocketed, like they have in other countries, we’re still in pretty good shape. Another comment had to do with the notion that the quality of education simply costs a lot of money, and everyone has to pitch in to ensure we have sustained quality – including the students.
I must admit, the dialogue is exciting. That’s the power of technology! At least this way, we can get people talking and looking for the right solutions to real problems.
___
Though I agree that ensuring quality of education should be a joint responsibility between government, academia, and students, it is still in my humble opinion that increasing the cost of tuition – alone – is a completely unfair solution.
The proposal put forward only spoke of tuition hikes, potentially in the realm of 25% over the next couple of years! If the burden has to be shared, I’d like to see the proposals on the other parties before accepting a wide-sweeping tuition hike that will impede the opportunity of many students to attend post-secondary institutions.
One of the comments put forward also had to do with the value of college education; and the (misconstrued) pre-conceived notion that university education is better. University and college education are different - no, not THAT kind of different; just genuinely different. Students must be encouraged, by parents and other societal leaders, to explore what they really want to achieve and then to determine which post-secondary institution is best for them. None-the-less, the proposed “solution” for ensuring quality of education fell squarely on the shoulder of students – of either type of institution.
(If you are an “American Lemonhead”, I just want to clarify that though University and College is nearly an interchangeable term in the US, in Canada the perceived difference is somewhat similar to the difference between a College and a community college.)
Bottom line: before making it harder for students to acquire a post-secondary education, let’s look at a full package solution with a shared burden that is actually shared. This proposal hasn’t gone through yet… perhaps other options are being explored.
One can only hope.
Now, that means that 20% of you said “it’s OK”. To be fair, I received some good comments… Canada’s education system is a steal, and since the rates of education have not skyrocketed, like they have in other countries, we’re still in pretty good shape. Another comment had to do with the notion that the quality of education simply costs a lot of money, and everyone has to pitch in to ensure we have sustained quality – including the students.
I must admit, the dialogue is exciting. That’s the power of technology! At least this way, we can get people talking and looking for the right solutions to real problems.
___
Though I agree that ensuring quality of education should be a joint responsibility between government, academia, and students, it is still in my humble opinion that increasing the cost of tuition – alone – is a completely unfair solution.
The proposal put forward only spoke of tuition hikes, potentially in the realm of 25% over the next couple of years! If the burden has to be shared, I’d like to see the proposals on the other parties before accepting a wide-sweeping tuition hike that will impede the opportunity of many students to attend post-secondary institutions.
One of the comments put forward also had to do with the value of college education; and the (misconstrued) pre-conceived notion that university education is better. University and college education are different - no, not THAT kind of different; just genuinely different. Students must be encouraged, by parents and other societal leaders, to explore what they really want to achieve and then to determine which post-secondary institution is best for them. None-the-less, the proposed “solution” for ensuring quality of education fell squarely on the shoulder of students – of either type of institution.
(If you are an “American Lemonhead”, I just want to clarify that though University and College is nearly an interchangeable term in the US, in Canada the perceived difference is somewhat similar to the difference between a College and a community college.)
Bottom line: before making it harder for students to acquire a post-secondary education, let’s look at a full package solution with a shared burden that is actually shared. This proposal hasn’t gone through yet… perhaps other options are being explored.
One can only hope.
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