CEGEPs are overflowing with students and are deteriorating “at a worrying rate,” at a time when funds continue to be insufficient for their maintenance and expansion, worries the new president and CEO of the Fédération des cégeps, Marie Montpetit.
A month and a half after taking office, the former politician and political columnist is currently experiencing a baptism of fire marking her arrival at the head of the organization representing the 48 public colleges in Quebec.
Preliminary data collected by the Fédération des cégeps between 1er and August 21 report a total of 184,709 students enrolled in the public college system this fall. This represents a growth of 5.3% compared to the total enrollment at the same time last year and the largest increase in student enrollment in 25 years, according to the organization.
“It’s very good news to see that there is an increase” in students, since it shows greater access by young Quebecers to post-secondary studies, declared Mme Montpetit, in an in-depth interview with the Duty. “But that really raises concerns about how the government will support CEGEPs in this,” since this rapid growth in enrollment brings “its share of challenges,” she said.
In Montreal alone, 2,417 students are joining the network this year, an increase of 4%. This percentage reaches 10% in CEGEPs in Lanaudière, 7.1% in those in the Laurentians and 8.7% in those in Chaudière-Appalaches, in particular. In this context, several institutions have had to install modular classes — also called “trailers” — near their buildings to compensate for the lack of space they have and thus accommodate all registered students.
“We are in the middle of the new school year and we see how many adjustments CEGEPs are currently requiring to accommodate all these students,” says M.me Montpetit.
Dilapidated CEGEPs
This situation comes in a context where college infrastructure has deteriorated “at a truly worrying speed” over the last five years due to a lack of funding for their maintenance, Mr.me Montpetit. In a report published last May, the Auditor General of Quebec, Guylaine Leclerc, also pointed out that by 2028, Quebec plans to invest $608.6 million to counter the asset maintenance deficit of the college network, “while $1.7 billion would be needed.” Currently, two-thirds (65%) of the buildings in the college network are considered to be in poor condition.
CEGEPs are thus forced to “close buildings” due to their obsolescence, while the expansion projects requested by these organizations “for a long time” are struggling to obtain the funds required to come to fruition, deplores the new CEO.
“And even for [les projets d’agrandissement] that are accepted, there is a slowness in the completion of projects, the completion of funding, for all sorts of reasons. It is a problem,” she added. She also fears that the use of modular classes and the decision by some CEGEPs to offer evening classes to compensate for the lack of space will become insufficient to meet the needs of a growing student community.
You have to press the accelerator.
However, at a time when a “shift” is needed to increase the funds allocated to the maintenance and expansion of the province’s colleges, the feedback that the Fédération des cégeps receives from the government is going “in the opposite direction,” warns M.me Montpetit. She is thus concerned about the prospect that Quebec will decide to “restrict”, in the coming years, “the investments that are made in CEGEP infrastructure”, even if their student population could grow by 20% within 10 years.
“We are calling on the government to continue to invest massively in infrastructure, because we don’t want to find ourselves in situations where students make other choices than going to CEGEP or continuing their studies because they don’t find themselves in optimal situations for education,” said the former member of the National Assembly. “We need to step on the accelerator.”
The role of foreign students
Data compiled by the Fédération des cégeps also show that 9,280 foreign students are enrolled in regular CEGEP education this fall, which represents a jump of 14.4% in one year.
“There has been an increase in the number of international students, but it’s really because we responded to the government’s call for various projects” aimed at addressing the labor shortage, particularly in the health sector, Mr.me Montpetit.
The latter is thus not very concerned about the bill that the Legault government intends to table this fall to limit the number of foreign students. Marie Montpetit doubts that the legislative approach directly targets CEGEPs, particularly in the regions, where members of this group play an essential role. “They are necessary for the vitality of certain programs and certain CEGEPs,” she recalled.