The decision to increase tuition fees for students outside Quebec made a lot of waves in universities last fall. But this thoughtless gesture by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) did not raise the water level in the pool. It has not brought more public funds into the empty coffers of universities.
If we wanted to tackle the chronic underfunding of universities, “what we have done is not going to move the needle much, honestly,” believes the rector of the University of Montreal, Daniel Jutras, that The Press received an editorial interview on Wednesday.
And if we wanted to resolve a linguistic problem, “I don’t think it’s the presence of these students that transforms the French-speaking face of Montreal,” he continues.
The unfortunate thing is that to get there, the government made a divisive speech which sent a very bad signal about the desire to welcome students from outside Quebec who contribute significantly to the vitality of campuses and the city. .
“I think it did harm to Montreal,” Daniel Jutras does not hesitate to say, even if the university he directs will benefit from the measure.
By increasing the rights of students outside Quebec, who are more numerous in English-speaking universities, Quebec intends to redistribute around 100 million dollars to French-speaking universities. But as enrollments at McGill and Concordia have fallen by about a quarter, the windfall may be less generous.
And in any case, it is only a movement of funds, not new money which universities are sorely lacking.
During the maple spring, the red squares succeeded in stopping the increase in tuition fees announced by the Liberal government. They won their battle. But the universities lost out.
Taking into account inflation, their funding has shrunk dramatically. Operating resources per student decreased by 10% in Quebec between 2001 and 2018, while they increased by 3% in English Canada.
Result: Quebec universities would need 1.2 billion more to reach the level of funding of universities in the rest of Canada, according to a study carried out by economist Pierre Fortin in 2021.
This underfunding has very concrete consequences for students and for society as a whole.
Daniel Jutras cites the example of the clinic of the faculty of dentistry. The equipment is outdated. We have difficulty recruiting dentists to teach. In short, we are on the verge of a breaking point in the training of future dentists. These are the essential services to the population that are in danger.
To increase their income, universities, which are essentially financed per student, are tempted to increase the number of students, by calling on lecturers, who teach half of all courses in certain universities.
This saves money, because lecturers are paid around $10,000 per load, while a professor earns a salary of up to $159,000, plus benefits. But some students end up with only lecturers, especially at the undergraduate level. “It is fundamental that our great authorities meet our students as quickly as possible,” says Mr. Jutras.
Other universities are turning students into cash cows, enrolling up to 700 students in virtual classes.
Zero interaction with the teacher. Zero interaction with other students. Zero campus experience. To top it all off, the knowledge acquired is assessed with a choice of answer exam which offers the obvious advantage of being corrected in no time.
It’s education on the cheap! Afterwards, it’s no surprise that the students have the motivation in their heels? Why should we be surprised by the low university graduation rate?
Despite very low tuition fees, the proportion of holders of a baccalaureate among Quebecers aged 25 to 34 (38%) is lower than the average for OECD countries (40%) and much lower than in Ontario (44%). And the gap with our neighbors is constantly widening.
This has an impact on Quebec’s prosperity, because those with a bachelor’s degree then earn a higher salary. For the CAQ, which wants to catch up with the standard of living of its Ontario neighbor, investing in universities therefore makes sense.
The federal government also has its role to play in better financing research and development (R&D) in Canada, which has fallen from 1.86% of GDP in 2000 to 1.55% in 2022, while the trend is upwards. in the OECD.
Research is the engine of innovation. Graduation is the key to our prosperity. If we want to increase our collective wealth, essential to financing our public services, investing in our universities is obvious.