Students and faculty at Western University rallied on Thursday in protest of the institution’s proposal to privatize some of its educational services.
About 100 people marched and listened to speeches on the campus, many angry about the way the school is tackling its budget shortfall.
“I think that corporate greed is on the rise, and I think that we need to keep the academic integrity of this institution focused on teaching students, and that should be the main priority, nothing else,” exclaimed student Dylan Evans.
Student Isabella Cornell, who attended the protest, told CTV News she feels she was misled by the university.
“We’re mad. We’re very angry. As first years, I feel like privatization of education, exploitation of international students, and budget cuts to a faculty that we’re really passionate to be in, is not something that we signed up for. As my sign says, it wasn’t mentioned during our orientation week, it was not an event,” she said.
Fellow first year student Marie Johnson said the plan, if it goes ahead, means fewer people will be able to access higher education.
“We want university to be a fair and accessible experience for everyone. And with all the budget cuts, and with international tuition going way up, it just seems less and less accessible,” she lamented.
Western University had said the proposal would be one solution to ongoing financial challenges, including a provincial tuition freeze, and federal cuts to international student study permits.
Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Local 610 President Pardis Baha said lack of government funding for post secondary institutions is also a contributing factor to an untenable financial situation.
“Ontario is the worst funded post-secondary sector in Canada. We have to improve or increase our post-secondary budget by 47 per cent to be second last. We should be focusing on the government. The university should not be passing on the pressure to the campus community. It doesn’t make sense,” said Baha.
PSAC is calling out a number of other austerity measures at Western University, including graduate funding cuts, reducing contract faculty positions, and a decline in librarian and archivist roles.
After this story first aired, Western sent the following statement in response.
Western is currently planning its budget for the coming fiscal year. As part of the normal budget process, all faculties and operational units are having discussions about balancing individual budgets. No final decisions have been reached.
The university’s budget will be finalized later this April and taken to the Board of Governors for approval on May 1.
Western has a history of strong fiscal management and this has served us well. That said, over a decade of policy decisions have left Ontario’s universities with the lowest per student funding in the country, and the federal government’s restrictions on international student visas are adding further strain on institutions. If the current situation continues, it will require us to reduce spending - unless we find other revenues.
Finally, the assertion that the university is privatizing education is misleading. The university is in the early stages of exploring a potential partnership with Navitas that would complement our existing international recruitment efforts by establishing pathway for students who would otherwise not find their way to Western. After completing a first-year program with extra supports, these students would enter Western’s programs for years two to four. Campus-wide consultations are taking place to help shape a proposal for review and approval by Western’s Senate and Board of Governors.
As always, Western is planning proactively to ensure our focus remains on making strategic investments to deliver the high-quality teaching and research that sets us apart.
