Quesnel City Council has unanimously endorsed the College of New Caledonia Student Union’s “Don’t Close The Doors” campaign and is calling on the Provincial Government, whoever that might be, to restore the 6.9 million dollars in funding that was cut in December of 2014.
Michelle Godfrey, the elected student rep in Quesnel, says a course that used to be free now costs 544 dollars plus applicable fees.
She says it has had a big impact in a short time…
“Enrollment here on the Quesnel campus has dropped by 30 percent due to the lack of funding and I only foresee it dropping even more than that, I mean it’s only been one year.”
Councillor Ed Coleman calls it an unfortunate trend…
“I know it has probably impacted a thousand adults in our community, between the college facility and the school district facility previously, and I think its a huge issue for our community to make sure that the people that went to get their grade 12 or upgrade so they can participate in another program and/or enhance their skills for better employment.”
Coleman says people should not be restricted to what they can earn and he says fundamentally the content should be free because it is pre post secondary.