This March, the provincial budget was released. We saw changes to the flat rate income tax, our health care system, gasoline tax, and as always education. Education faced heavy cuts this year, as it did last year and the year before that, and the year before that. You might not be thinking too much about these cuts and how they’ll affect you, so let me shed some light on this situation.
1) Fewer teachers and larger classes
With less funding, we will lose 2,500 teachers across the province this year. As the positions for teachers are dropping, the amount of students enrolling in public schools has been said to increase to 12,000 students next fall (without additional funding for textbooks or teachers). What does this mean for class sizes? Some high school students can expect to see their classes reach 40 students. This means that when students need extra help, they cannot be accommodated by their teachers due to the amount of extra time teachers will have to spend marking.
2) Fewer extra curricular activities
Due to budget cuts, you can expect to see some of your school’s extra curricular programs be taken away. With stricter budgets and teachers teaching more classes, schools will no longer have the money or time to run these activities.
3) Basic funding per student will decrease
As the years have gone by, we have seen the basic funding per student go down. This year will be no different. Students that cannot afford the field trips hosted by their schools will no longer have the opportunities to attend them due to substantial decreases in the funding for students.
4) University tuition will increase and programs will be cut
Universities will also feel the shock of this new budget. Many already have. The University of Alberta has suspended 20 programs already. As the Alberta government tries to move further away from public dollars, you can also expect university tuition to increase. Slashes bursaries will be decreased by 25% making it harder to many people to afford post-secondary.
As you can see, the Alberta government is doing nothing for the students of this province. It’s not just in Alberta though, these cuts have been happening all over the country. It is clear that our government only cares about large corporations and our oil industry. The government never has and never will value the voice of students, unless we stand up for ourselves. The only way these injustices can be stopped is if we show the government that we are aware of what is going on and we don’t approve it. If you would like to show your support for this cause visit http://supportourstudents.ca/ and e-mail your local candidates and have your voice heard. Also, use the #StudentsMatter on Twitter and please come out on April 25th to the Calgary City Hall from 6-8pm to participate in a peaceful protest against education cuts. Help be part of a change, and show our government that students matter.