Quebec CEGEPs were caught off guard in the middle of summer by a letter from the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, ordering them to reduce in some cases by more than half their spending on the renovation of their buildings and the purchase of equipment, noted The Duty. General managers of these establishments are now taking action to urge Quebec to reverse this “deplorable” decision.
The members of the management of the province’s CEGEPs were mostly on vacation when Minister Déry sent them a letter on July 31 imposing a maximum authorized level of spending that was, in many cases, significantly lower than the investment budget that the boards of directors of these establishments had approved earlier this year.
“It’s a drastic reduction” in spending that has been imposed on the province’s 48 public CEGEPs, confirms the Duty the President and CEO of the Fédération des Cégeps, Marie Montpetit.
“It’s very inconsistent because it affects projects that are already underway, major projects that have been planned for years and equipment purchases that are necessary for courses,” she lists. The purchase of equipment for laboratories in health and engineering programs is particularly threatened, as is maintenance work on buildings and sports fields, she lists.
“It’s a lot of money”
Collège Ahuntsic, which had estimated in its last budget at $13.36 million the expenses it could incur this year to maintain its buildings and purchase equipment intended in particular for its many laboratories, was thus imposed last month a limit of approximately $5.4 million for these expenses.
A 60% reduction in the financial room for maneuver of this CEGEP which echoes that of 54% noted by the Cégep de l’Outaouais, in a letter obtained by The Dutyand that of 50% noted within the Cégep Édouard-Montpetit, in Longueuil.
“It’s a huge amount of money” that CEGEPs are being asked to cut from their expenses this year, confirms the director general of Collège Ahuntsic, Nathalie Vallée, who describes this decision by Quebec as “deplorable.” Her teams are currently analyzing the options available to them to adapt to this new requirement from Quebec while limiting the effects that these “heartbreaking choices” will have on the CEGEP, where significant investments are needed to renovate the cafeteria and acquire specialized – and “very expensive” – equipment that several of the institution’s laboratories need, notes the manager.
“There are a lot of projects that we will have to put on hold,” continues Ms. Vallée, who is concerned about the effects that these budgetary restrictions risk having on the student population of the province’s CEGEPs, whose mental health has not been “at its best in recent years.”
“We have to make sure that these infrastructures are as clean, welcoming and bright as possible, but with news like this, it’s going to be difficult to do that,” she adds.
Ceilings “already exceeded”
The CEGEPs learned this bad news in the middle of summer, a period during which these establishments concentrate on carrying out most of the maintenance work they must do, in order to take advantage of the absence of students in the classrooms.
Thus, the school year has barely begun and some CEGEPs have “already exceeded” the new spending “ceilings” that were recently imposed on them by Quebec.
“This creates a real accessibility issue,” continues Ms. Montpetit, who fears service disruptions in some CEGEPs, which could also decide to suspend the creation of new programs for financial reasons. “It’s really a shockwave right now in the college network.”
Directors general of CEGEPs from all regions of the province will meet this Thursday with members of Minister Pascale Déry’s team in the hope of obtaining “answers” to their questions, indicates Ms. Montpetit.
“We are asking the government to review this decision,” which is “improvised,” insists the new CEO of the Fédération des cégeps. The latter has also been alarmed in recent weeks to note the glaring maintenance deficit of the province’s CEGEPs, as well as the growing lack of space that many of them are facing in large centres due to the growth of the student population.
Joined by The Dutythe office of Minister Pascale Déry explains that this directive was sent to CEGEPs with the aim of ensuring “sound management of public funds and to better monitor the progress of infrastructure projects.”
This new practice applies to all ministries that are affected by the Quebec Infrastructure Plan, adds the firm, which promises to be open to compromises with CEGEPs. “The ministry will demonstrate flexibility so that institutions are able to honour their contractual commitments,” assures press attaché Simon Savignac.