Guest Post: Quebec education summit highlights importance of state subsidy on universities, colleges

The recent pre - higher education summit organized by the Mc Gill Post‐Graduate Students’ Society of
McGill University, the Students’ Society of McGill and the Association for Graduate Students Employed
at McGill, has been a welcome development for students and administration officials seeking for an
avenue to discuss on how universities are being governed and how funding is being managed.

Federation Etudiante Universitaire du Quebec made it possible to push for open debates wherein
students can voice out their positions on matters involving their right to education, and soon enough,
for decent employability. The consultation is a product of the collaboration of campuses across the
province, recognizing the importance of multi-perspective approach to university governance and its
significant role in the society.

Panel discussions during the summit started out as productive. It has shown that contending parties are
willing to listen and consider the validity of various perspectives. And despite disagreements, arguments
were found to be constructive and nuanced.

The summit is but one part of newly elected Premiere Pauline Marois promise to hold conference that
would address higher education concerns following the abolishment of the previous government’s
proposal to increase tuition by $1,778 for the next seven years. Prior to the summit, students were
adamant about Marois’ sincerity on the cancellation of the tuition hike. This anxiety proved to be the
recurring issue in the workshops and discussions during the summit.

Parties on the side of the government argue that access to higher education in Canada is hardly affected
by financial constraints. They rather find socio-cultural and geographical factors contributing to the
reason why young people decide not to enter the university.

Government polemics see it this way—whoever benefits the most from higher education should be
willing to pay for it to get the quality they deserve. Clearly, this means that the government finds the
students as the ones getting the most benefits from university education.

But this is not entirely true. The society as a whole benefits the most from university education. Apart
from research and extension, universities are the training ground for future leaders and nation-builders.
Every employment agency in the country is rooting for the best minds to step out of the four corners of
the classrooms straight to the jungle that is out there.

Through government subsidy, we are assured that this generation’s prime movers find a reason to pay it
forward instead of being too preoccupied paying for student debts. It goes without saying then that the
government has the highest obligation to fund the universities despite tuition fees, partnerships with
the private sector and philanthropy. A society supporting the millennial generation is a society assured
of a better future.