Education Reform

POLICY POINT - JOBS & EDUCATION ACCESS
2012-JANUARY-11 - SASKATCHEWAN
Serious Problems have developed surrounding Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Education funding. The most recent serious problem involves Saskatchewan Taxpayers paying an unacceptable price for foreign nationals taking educational seats from Saskatchewan's citizens. Likewise, foreign nationals are being wrongfully given large numbers of Post-Secondary teaching and administrative jobs ahead of our citizens. This means that fully qualified Saskatchewan and Canadian citizens are being turned away from administrative, research, graduate level, and teaching positions within Universities and Technical Schools.

Post-Secondary funding for Universities, Technical Schools, and other specialization education facilities, are now costing Saskatchewan Taxpayers over two Billion dollars each year. The major problem is these Post-Secondary institutions are admitting foreign citizens to Saskatchewan educational programs who have no commitment to Saskatchewan or desire to stay in the province. This means 80-90% of all foreign national's education costs are lost when they leave the province. Saskatchewan taxpayers who have footed the bill for these people get no return.

A survey of one Health Care related Graduate Studies program conducted by an independent auditor showed that 97 percent of the students had educational qualifications that were useless in Canada but that the admissions committee for the Masters level program had admitted them in spite of their clear lack of qualifications. The study also demonstrated clearly that in the same period 57 foreign citizens had been admitted, while 127 fully qualified Canadians had been turned away from the program.

This serious problem involving admissions committees staffed by foreign nationals and non-Canadian citizens results in biased admission of foreign students based on unproven and questionable qualifications and grades from foreign countries, The result is that Saskatchewan citizens and their families are turned away over a few percentage points in admissions scores. Saskatchewan citizens who are being turned away in favor of a foreign citizens and it is these Saskatchewan Citizens who are the very people who would in fact have the best chance of staying in the province because of their roots and affinity for the province. Foreigners do not have the same reasons to stay and today nearly 93 percent of these students leave upon graduation taking Billions of dollars in Saskatchewan Taxpayer education investments with them.

Who is to blame for this? Post-Secondary institution administrators, and the two parties in Saskatchewan's Legislature are to blame. They alone bear the full responsibility for irresponsibly failing to ensure that Saskatchewan and Canadian Citizens get first access to all post-secondary education programs. This includes programs such as Medical programs, Engineering, Law, Education, Graduate Studies, and all technical and trades fields of study.

The Saskatchewan Democratic Action Party would change Saskatchewan post-secondary education to make sure that all Canadian citizens and Saskatchewan Citizens have the right of first access to all programs of study in the province regardless of marks or admissions standards - if a seat is open it will be given to our citizens first before a foreign national's application is considered. Similarly, the Saskatchewan Democratic Action Party would replace all foreign nationals holding positions within Saskatchewan Post-Secondary institutions with our citizens. During hiring and promotion, our citizens will also receive priority over foreign nationals. As well, foreign nationals will be forbidden from holding top positions within governance bodies, including boards, or any administrative jobs in Saskatchewan. Keeping Saskatchewan strong means avoiding driving away our citizens when they are forced to watch the jobs they apply for being given to a person who does not hold a Canadian Citizenship.

2011-JANUARY-31 - SASKATCHEWAN
The Saskatchewan Democratic Action Party has a plan to improve post-secondary funding and access for Saskatchewan Students. The SDAP program is Costed, Socially Progressive, and Fiscally Affordable.

POLICY COMPARISON - POST SECONDARY EDUCATION

Cost versus Benefit Analysis
In just the last 7 years the two political parties in our Legislature have cost Saskatchewan Taxpayers $5.87 Billion Dollars in losses through Post-Secondary Education mismanagement. This is money that is lost and cannot be recovered and these very large tax pay dollar losses will only continue to grow under the two parties currently manipulating Saskatchewan's Legislature.