BC Federation of Students calls on government to increase funding

Students across BC say they’re frustrated with underfunding and the number of cuts in post-secondary education.

Representatives from the BC Federation of Students met with the provincial government to demand funding levels be restored to BC’s public post-secondary institutions and highlight how cuts in education are having an impact on local communities and across all sectors.

Federation chairperson Jessie Niikoi said cuts are playing a heavy burden on students, but the harm is being felt beyond the classroom.

“The burden has never been heavier,” Niikoi says. “Rural and regional communities rely on institutions as economic anchors, and they’re losing their ability to train a local workforce and access to good paying jobs and economic growth.

“If the government doesn’t act now, the damage could be irreversible.”

Several colleges across BC, and Canada, have closed several programs since 2023 including Okanagan College’s two-year Bachelor of Nursing program and Niikoi says over the next 10 years more jobs are going to require a degree and with the current cuts there will be several holes to fill.

“Over the next decade, 76 per cent of the more than 847,200 job openings expected in the province will require some level of post-secondary education or training, yet funding commitments to save the education system aren’t being prioritized,” Niikoi said.

According to the province, the current budget already promised $700 million over three years to improve access to post-secondary education and address skills gaps.

It also includes a $4.7 billion investment in capital funding, investments in more learning facilities, and close to $200 million for several programs across the province and an interim space for a new medical school at Simon Fraser University.

– with files from Justin Baumgardner, My Cowichan Valley Now staff