On the heels of last year’s budget that froze government funding for public post-secondary institutions and student financial assistance programs for three years, the new BC budget tabled Feb. 15 announced the freeze would extend through an additional year.

The “zero percent” strategy does not protect education, warns David Mirhady, president of the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia.

“Students have seen their tuition fees rise 2 per cent every year, and professors have accepted two-year wage freezes. It’s only the government that is letting BC’s universities fall behind,” he said. “Facing similar fiscal difficulties, Ontario and Alberta have continued making substantial investments in post-secondary education.”

Nimmi Takkar, chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students for British Columbia, said post-secondary students and their families can’t afford the so-called “status quo” budget.

“In a time of high unemployment, one of the most important investments a government can make is in higher education and training,” she said. “Slowly starving post-secondary institutions and drowning students in debt will hamper the province’s economic strength and productivity.”

Among graduates who borrow in BC, the average debt is $27,000, the highest in the country outside of Atlantic Canada. BC students also pay the highest interest rate on student loan repayments in Canada.

A federation analysis of the budget also shows financing of programs designed to help the province’s post-secondary students has been reduced by almost 20 per cent since 2009.

Cindy Oliver, president of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC, said the government’s mandate continues the decade-long decline of real per-student operating grants.

“Publicly-funded post-secondary institutions are being forced to reduce access, programs and services at a time when all three should be increasing. BC urgently needs to increase access and opportunities for citizens wanting to start or complete a post-secondary education,” she said.