Ontario’s post-secondary minister says colleges and universities are “rebalancing” as they adjust to a drop in international students that has left a number warning of — or already planning — massive cutbacks.
Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park a day after Sheridan College released news of cuts to about 30 per cent to its programming and staffing, Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn said “there is a rebalancing that’s going to happen with the federal government’s unilateral decision, and there is going be some challenges because of (fewer) students who are going to be enrolled.”
Quinn said the provincial government pledged an additional $1.3 billion to the sector earlier this year, over three years, to help deal with costs “to ensure that we get through the road ahead and make sure that they are stable with their financials.”
The ministry, he added, is “constantly engaging with our stakeholders, all the institutions. We’re having conversations with them on a daily basis to truly understand their financial stability.”
But Colleges Ontario said it “continues to be deeply concerned about the impact of the federal government’s changing policies on immigration and the adverse impacts on students, communities and local economies. We are working closely with the provincial government and Ontario’s universities to find meaningful ways to minimize this impact.”
The province’s colleges and universities are facing a cash crunch as they deal with rising costs, fewer international students and government funding that is among the lowest in the country, at a time when the provincial government also cut and then froze tuition fees.
The province’s own expert panel had last year recommended increases of about $2.5 billion to the sector, but the government has provided about half that.Â
The Council of Ontario Universities has warned that without more funding, some 100,000 students wanting to attend university may not have a spot by 2030.Â
Schools have been relying on international students — who pay much higher tuition — to help fill the funding gap, but the federal government recently clamped down in light of their growing numbers, housing shortages, and ongoing questions about the quality of some public-private college programming.
“At the end of the day, the roots of this crisis are the fact that we, in Ontario, are in last place for per-student funding for colleges and universities. We’re so far behind other provinces,” said NDP Leader Marit Stiles.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said schools are in “crisis” and that the staffing and programming cuts are “devastating” for communities.
Premier Doug Ford “ignored his own expert panel and refused to make serious investments in our colleges and universities earlier this year, this is exactly what we feared would happen,” added NDP post-secondary critic Peggy Sattler.
“We need to protect them, not starve them of resources.”
Quinn noted negotiations are underway for new “strategic mandate agreements” which set out performance expectations and funding for schools.
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