_UPE‘I '_$UN.. VOLUME 11

WINTER CARNIVAL ' a ROYALTY1980 g .

JOHN FITZPATRICK‘ ' ; AND

DENISE MCGOWAN '“

The Council of Maritime Premiers (CMP) has just announced that it has accepted the reccnnemdation of the Maritime Province's' Higher Education Cormission regarding levels of university funding for the .academic year 1980-81. Son of a gun eh! Now in ‘case you haVen't been following the most recent activities and brainstonnes Of that most venerable body of reasonable, fair—minded, conservative' middle-of—the road assorted academic and lay— people, they recommended that the three maritime governments increase financial assistance to universities by 8.1%. Before anybody launches into spasms of uncontrollable joy, allow me to remind ya that the 8.1% increase in funds will only partially Satisfy the financial needs of the university. A tuition increase of nearly the same amount is * assumed to be forthccudng to supplement the govern- ment funds, and the MPHEC at the CMP are expecting' universities to increase tuition fees accordingly. wee is us. , ' v ' ,

Now, where should one Ctnnemce placing the blame for the increasing cost to the student of a university education. Obviously, One good place to start would be the MPHEC itself. The Commission, over the past several years, has consistently maintained that _ tuition fees should increase to reflect the increasing eXpense of opérating a university, suggests that students should continue to supply the same leVel of support to the institutionsas they currently do. To you and me, this means that, as long as inflation Continues, tuition like everything else, will continue to rise. Some people, of course, fail to see any— thing wrong with this attitude, claiming that students are getting a break by only paying as much tuition as We do,and calling us a bunch of over educated spoiled brats vtfl»ionf. know when we've got it good. But I Can fine LWO a jectives to this attitude. Firstly, I Canndt unde tand why we must pay for a university education fn : first place. Recalling my years in school preyious to UPEI , it occurs to me that the Educatioan received in public school was terribly inadequate, and yielded to me none of the benefits Which I feel UPEI has. It seems that one really does not begin to be educated until one_reaches university and for this reason, I feel university, like the . a SChools that one is forced to attend for 12 years,

MONEY?‘

ARCHIVES U. P. E. l.

,4. y r )6 PAGES

by: Kevin Gauthier

should be free. A university education is of un- limited value to anyone who chooses to accept it, and financial barriers like an $800 tuition bill

>should'not be allowed to stand in the way of anybody's

desire for an education. Our society believes that education is a universal right, so why must we insist that it end at grade 12? It makes little

_sense to me.

The second reason why tuition fees should not be tied to the cost of living is simply that.our wages are not. _It seems grossly unfair to expect us to pay more for an education when the wages that put us through university are shrinking relative to the costs we face. But the Commission has overlooked that point, deSpite concerted attempts by students to bring this realization to them.

'Of course, one could also berate the CMP for this undesirable trend which is evolving. Our premiers should realize that these provinces, now and even moreso in future, need well educated native sons and daughters to improve our econcndc and social conditions, especially within the next decade when Canada will undergo massive changes in its fabric and structure. Who will conceive original, innovative dbsigns-for change if we ourselves are not capable of doing so? Experience has shown that "outsiders" simply cannOt make effective, acceptable

pplans for us. ‘We must do our own building, but we

cannot without the proper training and experience. Our premiers soon must open their eyes and look

rdown,the road. When they do, they might

realize that we are unprepared, as a society, for the pot—holes and ruts that lie ahead. On a happier closing note, I would like to encOurage the university administration to continue their efforts at cutting expenses and keeping tuition as low as possible. Our President and his advisors did a cxnmemdable job last year, and we should all hope that their sympathetic consideration of our problems continues. In the meantime, start looking for a government job, and save your pennies.

WHO SAID WE'VE GOT MONEY?