College student turmoil affects broader community
Editorial
In a recent decision that has sent shockwaves through the community, Fleming College has suspended 15 programs from Lindsay’s Frost Campus, alone, citing the cap on international students as the main cause. While the college claims that current students won’t be affected and will be able to complete their programs, the reality is far more complex.
What about the impact on students who were planning to enroll in these now-suspended programs? Many of them had carefully chosen their paths, hoping to gain valuable skills and qualifications. What about those students who were planning to take related courses, to augment their professional learning, as our feature story in this issue outlines?
As well, the loss of these programs affects not only students but also the broader community. Fleming plays a crucial role in supplying skilled professionals to local businesses and industries. Employers rely on graduates from these programs to fill essential roles. With the suspension of programs like Fish and Wildlife Technology and Urban Forestry, the pipeline of skilled workers has been severely disrupted. This ripple effect harms the local economy and hinders growth.
The blame game is easy on this one – and there’s lots to go around. The college’s claim that the federal cap on international students and the elimination of educational private partnerships are solely responsible for the budgetary pressures is oversimplified. And yet the Ontario government – especially compared to its provincial peers – has been underfunding colleges for years. Although this media outlet is decidedly pro-immigration, the federal government should have known better than to allow so many international students in with a housing market on the brink of crisis. It’s a disservice to those students and it has played a major role in this post-secondary turmoil.
Fleming College’s program cuts have indeed affected students’ lives, contrary to the college’s assurances. Our students deserve better, and our community depends on it. It’s time for colleges and both levels of government to figure out a funding solution.
To say the Fleming College administration decision to cut 15 programs “has sent shockwaves through the community” is a tad hyperbolic, as it is to say “the pipeline of skilled workers has been severely disrupted”. Two of the most valuable skills students can learn at the college level of education are adaptability and resilience. The courses that have been cut are offered at other colleges in Ontario including Sudbury, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Pembroke, and Toronto and many students who attend those schools will want to work in Kawartha Lakes if we can offer them attractive incentives. What the author fails to mention is how the pressure relieved by these cuts will impact the local rental market. Have you looked at rental prices in the City of Kawartha Lakes recently? Our homeless and working poor can tell you they are far too high for them to afford. Anyone looking to work in Kawartha Lakes’ businesses that pay minimum wage or slightly more cannot apply here because there is simply no housing that is affordable enough. In fact, high housing prices have been cited as one of the reasons for nursing shortages as well. But in addition, the international students Canada invited too many of to study here have suffered horrifically also from the housing shortages, often living in unsafe conditions, in shelters, or even on the street or in their cars, while still trying to get diplomas and degrees. It’s not fair, all around.
Some programs that were cut are offered elsewhere. others, like Electrical Power Generation are not offered anywhere else in Canada. (They’re in the catalogs, but have never actually run) . There is already a huge shortage of techs in that field. Some other colleges programs were quickly waitlisted soon after these cuts, leaving domestic students out in the cold. This isn’t a solution to anyone’s housing crisis. These programs create immediate high income tax payers.
These cuts are wrong on so many levels…so many of our Grads having to go “away” to school to continue their education adding unnecessary cost to that effort…another lack of foresight on the part of a PC provincial that seems to care less about us “folks” and more about the rich and privileged. Let’s underfund local rural Colleges but add thousands of people to local rural populations…just another item on my list. I will answer with my vote on election day…it’s only one but the ones can make a difference.