The recent announcement that Portage College will essentially be vacating the Centennial Centre and closing its Bonnyville Campus comes on the heals of provincial budget cuts that see three per cent of government funding to Alberta's post secondary institutions slashed.
Despite the government insisting the budget will not be balanced on the backs of post-secondary students, significant cuts to a sector that contributes long-term research, knowledge and training to Alberta's future will inevitably have negative repercussions.
Locally, this becomes immediately apparent with Portage College picking up and leaving town due to financial shortfalls. The shake-up will bring with it a loss of post-secondary services and jobs in Bonnyville, as well as leaving a portion of the Centennial Centre vacant, with questions about who or what might fill the void in the coming months or years.
Part of the government's plan is to have post-secondary institutions eliminate duplication and increasingly collaborate with private industry.
Perhaps part of the reason Portage has pulled out of Bonnyville is to eliminate the duplication that could be occurring with its Cold Lake Campus. The college hasn't yet commented publicly on the decision to leave, stating only that a press release would be issued today.
Although eliminating duplication is paramount to running a successful business, the same approach should not be taken when operating an educational institution.
Certainly, there are ways for Alberta's post-secondary institutions to be more efficient, however, greater care must be taken when cutting or re-aligning within certain sectors, such as health care and education, where the traditional business model should not apply.
And despite the benefits to industry and the government's finances, collaboration and partnerships between post-secondary institutions, government and private industry must be highly scrutinized, as to not jeopardize the independence and freedom to research, publish and speak without censorship.
It would be a shame to reduce or eliminate post secondary access and services for students of all ages and backgrounds or to compromise the independence of our institutions in order to balance a provincial budget, when many other options, like a modernized tax system, are discounted.
