Thread by @JyotiGondek

1/Why would you hobble the ability of post-secondaries to nurture talent, encourage innovative thinking and produce a skilled workforce? I have no idea. But that’s exactly what the provincial government is doing. By draining funds away from advanced education, our future suffers.

https://twitter.com/DonBraid/status/1356408301693493248

2/Now is the time to properly fund post-secondaries in our province, to encourage the draw of local schools during a pandemic when many families rely on access to affordable education for their young adult children. Now is not the time to limit enrollment through massive cuts.

3/Moreover, think of what’s happening with the move to measure university success through job placement & income levels. There is a preconceived notion that certain jobs are valued, both from an income perspective & as a university funding tool. That’s inertia, not progress.

4/I guess entrepreneurs who start up companies with great ideas aren’t valued. Nor are the social scientists who are often underpaid in the workforce, doing the heavy work like keeping families together, tackling addiction, addressing homelessness & promoting mental health.

5/Instead, our provincial government thinks jobs of old will save the day. They’re banking on traditional 9-5 office gigs that are quickly vanishing, instead of flexible & productive careers that foster critical thinking to drive new ideas. The pull of nostalgia never wanes.

6/Rather than encouraging post-secondaries to promote cross-disciplinary training, to generate well-rounded graduates who can tackle complex socioeconomic issues, we’re going back to basics. Basics that will continue to drag us back in time as the world races past us.

7/Students & faculty need to stand together, with business & community leaders solidly behind them, demanding more investment in advanced education. We need to support the type of learning & research that we’ve become known for across the world.

8/With every proposed cut – to health care, schools, emergency services, public transit, advanced education – we become less competitive & less compelling to the people & businesses who desperately want to call Alberta home. We cannot sit quietly. Own your voice & speak up.