UCP "transformation" of post-secondary funding an attempt to distract from their failed record

Premier Jason Kenney and the UCP are attempting to distract from their dismal record on post-secondary education by changing the funding formula in a way that binds universities and colleges in red tape and does nothing to address the harm already inflicted on students and institutions by UCP cuts.

Only minutes before his own government formally launched Red Tape Reduction Awareness Week, Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced a plan that will add red tape to universities and colleges by directing them to track several specific performance metrics tied to each universities operational funding.

“The UCP’s record when it comes to Advanced Education is tuition hikes, the elimination of education and tuition tax credits, increasing the interest on student loans, and cutting grant for universities and colleges, all to pay for this government’s $4.7-billion no-jobs corporate handout,” said MLA Sarah Hoffman Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition. “They have pushed life-changing education out of reach for many Albertans. 

“Rather than trying to distract from his failures on this file and binding our institutions and students with greater amounts of red tape, Minister Nicolaides should be focusing on undoing the devastating cuts they’ve already imposed.”