Get your own Free Home Page
IN ALBERTA
In 1972 the newly elected Conservative Government
under Peter Lougheed announced it was developing a policy paper
on Post Secondary Education as a result of the previous changes
in Education made by the Social Credit government. Twenty-two
years later and the Conservative Government has yet to deliver
a post secondary education policy.
In the late seventies, the shortage of skilled trades
needed for Tar Sands development lead the Lougheed government
to merge the Department of Advanced Education with the Department
of Manpower. It is now known as Advanced Education and Career
Development. Somehow, without a post secondary policy, the artificial
grafting of these two departments was supposed to produce an educated
and skilled work force, capable of supplanting skilled workers
from out of province.
The foundation of this kind of adult education has
traditionally been an apprenticeship program. In the case of the
new department, which still had no policy and no direction, it
became a question of competing empires. As directors and high
level bureaucrats lobbied for a niche in the new super department
of Advanced Education and Manpower. The much promised new apprenticeship
program did not come into effect until the early eighties coincidental
with the Recession. With no policy direction and artificial forecasts
of an oil boom until the late 1990's the apprenticeship program
was a patchwork of programs.
The oil boom had created a population as well as
economic boom but in Alberta's Universities enrollment was down.
Budgets were capped in 1978, operating budgets began to decline
as student enrollment hit a four year slump till 1982. Foreign
student fees were introduced and increased. Capital budgets were
increased to offset unemployment in the building trades, as work
on the Oil Sands declined. Operating budgets were tied to enrollment
and these were falling behind inflation rates.
With the recession came increased unemployment, and
more enrollment at Alberta's Universities, Colleges and Technical
Institutes. The Alberta Government then allowed post secondary
institutions to alter fee structures and increase tuition fees
to students.
As tuition fees increased in the early eighties'
student loans were frozen at current rates and would not begin
to increase till the middle eighties. By then student loans were
falling behind inflation.
The recession of the eighties saw more students attending
university, but operating grants remained capped and per student
funds did not match inflation. As inflation spiraled, capital
budgets ate up more of the surpluses and began eating into the
operating budgets.
Still there was no policy forthcoming from the Department
now called Advanced Education and Career Development. Instead
the department continued as it had during the boom. Expanding
courses at NAIT & SAIT , creating Athabasca University for
distance learning, and opening up more Community Colleges. At
the same time the majority of skilled workers were from other
Canadian provinces and as far away as England. Apprenticeship
programs and trade's education at NAIT & SAIT was playing
catch-up while the economy radically changed.
In primary education, schools moved away from vocational
education, and into a generalized matriculation program. Vocational
Schools such as W. P. Wagner C.H.S. in Edmonton, which were highly
successful in the seventies, now became remedial institutions
for students with emotional and social problems, for so called
slow learners. There was no coordination between the Department
of Advanced Education and the Department of Education. Of course
the Department of Education had policy and curriculum, the Department
of Advanced Education and Career Development was "still working
on their policy".
Post secondary institutions could not plan for technological
change, or for changes in workforce needs because there was no
provincial government leadership. The department was ,and is,
playing catch-up.
An excellent example of this is one of Alberta's
youngest Universities, the University of Lethbridge. In one decade,
from its opening in 1969, the U of L went from being one of the
premier Liberal Arts Universities in Canada to a practical arts
college. To get sufficient funds to operate, the university began
to offer more and more "job" or "career" courses.
It began with the introduction of the educational faculty, to
produce teachers, then a Management Arts department was added
to promote Business Administration, and in the 1980's a Nursing
Faculty was introduced. The addition of each of these faculties
was in response to a perceived need for graduates in these fields.
The Provincial Government had predicted an upcoming labour shortage
and tied its Operating Grants to these particular programs. If
Alberta's universities, colleges and technical institutes have
too many overlapping programs it is from the result of these grants.
Again, because the Department of Advanced Education had no policy
or performance objectives.
" A number of specific recommendations
had the cumulative effect of anticipating significant leadership
from Government. Government is expected to lead in the development
of the technology and network needed to make distance learning
more pervasive and effective. As well, government is expected
to make any legislative changes needed to help the system manage
change. Government is also expected to "drive" the overall
process by setting out a vision and overall plan, and then involving
affected parties in carrying out the plan. government is expected
to develop a funding mechanism that is driven by performance and
productivity considerations."
November 19-20 1993, Calgary.
Summary, pg. 9.
The current Roundtable on Advanced Education, like the department itself, lacks a cohesive structure or goal. It is a hydra of conflicting and underdeveloped ideas, directions and aspirations wrapped up in the current ideology of privatization. With no policy to define or direct departmental objectives it is no wonder that participants at the November roundtable demanded to know "who is in the driver's seat"?
On the one hand the department tried to define the limits of the roundtable discussion around cutbacks and downloading of funding. It tried to address Post Secondary Education and Adult Education (specifically employment related training strategies) with in the same parameters. But not all education is job related, especially not university education. And while giving lip service to " life long learning" it is quite apparent that Career Development is directing the majority of discussion of what Advanced Education in Alberta should be.
Several issues were flatly rejected by the roundtable participants, and we concur. These included; user pay schemes for student funding (deregulation), and voucher systems. Several other suggestions made in the Departments initial roundtable work book indicate that, regardless of the public input, the government plans to implement budget cuts, recommends pay and benefit reductions and plans on privatizing if not shutting down some publicly funded institutions.
The ideology of privatization is clearly apparent here as in the Department of Education's Meeting the Challenge workbook. In several aspects both of these Departments share common objectives. One is to download costs to students and parents. Another is to develop single track education, defining a basic level of publicly funded education and once completed all other education is user pay.
As an example Advanced Education has suggested funding
the Baccalaureate programs at university but not Graduate or Post
Graduate programs, here the student would pay the majority of
costs if not all of them. This would drastically curtail the Universities
in this province from attracting top students as well as research
grants and funds. Funds that are the lifeblood of all such institutions.
It is no coincidence that Fine Arts programs in Primary and Secondary Education were not defined as "basic" education but seen as frills. The logical conclusion of such thinking ends in the suggestion that the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Alberta College of Art be privatized. We find this view of arts and culture as frills, or non-job related, as dangerous and objectionable.
Cuts in arts and culture mean a reduction of Albertans being trained and working in the fields of broadcasting, television and video production, movie production, industries that have been developing in the past ten years. Industries that are reliant not only on an educated workforce but on culture grants, and a government supported 'market-place'. This is a forewarning that even in these areas we will soon see drastic cuts, perhaps by as much as 30%.
To a Conservative Government ideology fixated on privatization, driven by cost expectations and value for money spent we can well understand their loathing of painting, ballet, experimental theater and choral music. These are not 'products' that can be solely measured in the marketplace, unless of course everyone does water color landscapes of the Rockies. It is the political controversy of certain programs at the Banff School of Fine Arts in recent years that seems to be the focus of some members of the government. The attempt to privatize the Banff Center is not just a matter of cost savings but political revenge by this government.
Attacks on Arts and Culture in Education and Advanced Education clearly show that the government is intent in reducing education to salable products, if programs fail to graduate high income earners those programs are chopped. Ironically this anti-intellectualism, anti-culture stance is also reflected in the government's intention in selling off ACCESS, a source of many jobs in the fields of broadcast and television and the provinces best source for distance education.
Privatization of Arts and Culture on all levels will
leave Albertans with alternatives such as the American Radio/Broadcast
schools and Arthur Murray Dance Studios instead of ACCESS or the
Alberta Ballet. It will reduce highly skilled technical skills
to on the job training at low pay in Alberta's largely private
Radio and Television Industry.
An alternative to the government's proposal would
be to see shared courses in Post Secondary Institutions in the
Province. We can envision several examples; Students taking sculpting
at the U of A or U of C would take welding courses at NAIT or
SAIT for credit. Industrial Welding students at NAIT/SAIT could
then take Metal Sculpting classes at the U of A/U of C for transferable
credit, especially as it would complement the colleges already
existing 'ornamental welding course'. Professor Peter Hind, who
is a leading North American metal sculptor, at the U of A for
example would then be teaching both fine arts students as well
as trades' people, and both would benefit from the experience.
Students who work in Student Radio Stations or on Student Newspapers should be able to take supplementary technical courses at Grant McEwan or NAIT/SAIT and get transferable credit for the University. While these would be practical journalism or Radio & TV. production courses they could be given credit in Sociology of Popular Culture. Likewise students taking these technical courses would get transferable credit from the University by taking courses on Media and Ethics, Popular culture, etc. that would be in the Sociology department.
Transferable credit and courses could be also shared between photography courses offered at University and technical or Community Colleges, Carpentry courses in Theater Construction could be shared by both NAIT/SAIT and the Drama Departments at the U of A and the U of C.
This would help overcome the myth that trades people don't read or appreciate Shakespeare, and that Fine Arts students are all artsy fartsy. It would broaden programs and student interaction, while saving money by reducing course duplication, and in some cases would actually expand course selections and breadth of courses.
But no such proposition has come forth from this
government, rather it wants to sell off its assets and allow private
schools to take up the slack.
Of women apprentices in the province, the greatest single group of those is in the field of Beauty Culture. Here to the government wants to eliminate all preliminary training in this field that has been done in high schools as not part of a basic education. The logical conclusion will be the elimination of these courses in Alberta's technical colleges as well, leaving the only option for training being private beauty colleges. These colleges cost more, are paid for by public funds and exploit thousands of Alberta women as a source of cheap labour. But this fits in well with the government's promotion of entrepreneurship, maybe one day some lucky female beautician or hair stylist will do the premier's hair and end up on the government payroll as government appointee as happened with Don Getty's Barber. But the reality of the market place is that more independent beauty salons go under as small businesses, and the pay in this area is certainly at the low end of the scale due to the predominance of private schools.
For other certified trades, the future looks as bleak, as the government attempts to produce well-rounded workers rather than skilled trades' people. It is no mistake that this Japanese management style is being promoted in the Apprenticeship board, the idea that a worker should be trained in basic carpentry, electrical and welding skills. A quick look at what trades are jointly union/business supported indicates that by the end of the century the vast majority will be 'certified' rather than skilled.
Certification in this case is on the job training, and not a licensed skill. Iron Workers are a good example. While Plumbers and Pipe fitters still can job out apprentices through the union, Iron Workers, Welders and now even Sheet metal workers are being apprenticed through businesses only.
If skilled work and the wages that go with it are to be maintained in this province we need to expand the apprenticeship program so that unions as well as business can offer apprenticeships in all trades. As the apprenticeship program is now in too many trades it is a way of getting cheap labour, enforcement of school time is lax and in many trades unfortunately unions are too small to impose work rules; e.g. printing.
Apprenticeship must begin in High School, it
is part of a basic education, and it must be tripartite.
Labour must be represented as well as business and the government.
Business currently pays little in the way of education costs,
yet is getting more and more of the say in courses, and directions
that education will go in this province. Business must be made
to pay for the benefits of an educated labour force, and should
have to pay its share through a provincial education tax. As
in other industrial countries such as Germany and Japan, this
tax should cover both Secondary and Post-Secondary education.
Unions have successfully run their own education
programs for years. With the changes in the economy Steelworkers
and UFCW have developed joint sectional training and re-training
programs with their corporate counterparts that have been highly
successful. The Alberta Government failed to address these programs
or develop a tripartite program under CLFDB. Now with pending
cuts they have developed a hodge podge of ideas around their budget
documents for Advanced Education and Career Development that address
some of these issues while calling for more 'entrepreneurship'
and privatization. It is obvious that sectoral training with cost
sharing by business and active representation of Unions still
has not managed to be addressed by this government.
Universities plan to download funding cuts to students,
already they are asking that the 20% ceiling on tuition's be increased.
The ultimate objective is to have Alberta students pay 1/4 to
1/3 of their educational costs. This severely restricts access
to Education and the AFL is adamantly opposed to this. We are
also opposed to suggestions that have been made that Foreign Students
pay 100% of their Education costs. Many of our students come from
developing countries and this would limit them, as well as be
a loss to us as in providing international multicultural education.
Student loan repayments should be made easier and
tied to ability to pay. Not all graduates immediately get employment
and many do not get employment in their chosen vocational fields
for several years. Those who do should be assessed and pay accordingly.
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
FEBRUARY 1994
Get your own Free Home Page