It is an issue that will not go away. CBU has tried to get its own Bachelor of Education program for close to 20 years and each time has been turned away. Their most recent attempt was defeated by the recommendations of a four person panel appointed by the province’s education minister, Karen Casey.
The panel found that Nova Scotia produced more education graduates than was needed. This discovery, based on some simple supply and demand calculus, led to several recommendations. The report concluded that something had to be done about the “oversupply” of education graduates. They recommended that resident Bachelor of Education programs be continued and have their admission rates frozen, except for Saint Francis Xavier. The report recommended that Saint Francis Xavier’s Bachelor of Education program have its enrollment increased.
The report then said that the government should not approve new Bachelor of Education programs and it should clamp down on programs being offered through Nova Scotia’s universities, such as Cape Breton University’s program that works in partner with Memorial University Newfoundland.
No new programs and the scrapping of cohort programs. The panel, appointed by the minster of education, momentarily took the legs out from underneath Cape Breton University. The university had been riding high on the news of in nursing program and then the panel’s recommendations struck CBU like a sledgehammer to the gut. The shock did not last for long.
John Harker, President of CBU, said he, like many others, was shocked by the panel’s recommendations. I am shocked by their recommendations insofar as they run contrary to Premier MacDonald’s stated goals. However, such thinking has become central in the province’s strategy to develop Halifax as a core, with communities in the immediate periphery getting the leftovers and those far away getting table scraps.
How can Cape Breton, the second largest population in Nova Scotia, outside of Halifax not have its own Bachelor of Education program? It is a question that many people in Cape Breton have been asking and it is an issue that is becoming more and more politicized. The province’s opposition parties – NDP and Liberal – have come on side with their Cape Breton constituents and are lending their support to CBU.
Support has also poured from the Mi’kmaq community. A letter issued by the chiefs of all Atlantic Mi’kmaq communities stated that, “…if CBU had a bachelor of education degree we believe more aboriginal students would achieve their dream of becoming teachers, role models and leaders.”
The panel’s recommendations not only fly in the face of what the community wants, but also runs contrary to the current labour market and the purpose of higher education.
The panel only examined the province’s need for teachers; however, they did not examine world wide or nation wide demand. Their supply-demand calculation was not only simplistic, but overly simplistic with an extremely narrow and unrealistic sampling. The recommendations put forward by the panel suggest that the Province of Nova Scotia can somehow go against the international trend of an increasingly mobile labour force.
Even if their argument based on a narrow supply-demand calculation was correct, which it isn’t, it also ignores the purpose of a higher education. If we were to limit admission to university programs based on some supply and demand formula, I am sure we would have far fewer people in university. A higher education is not only about a bigger pay cheque and professional advancement; it is also about personal growth and the development of one’s intellectual capacity.
From the minute the panel was appointed by the minister of education I was doubtful of our BEd request. It looked like a poor and transparent attempt to distance herself from a result she already knew. I do not want to sound cynical, but it seems that CBU is fighting an uphill battle. The community has rallied behind this cause and will continue to do so; we are fighting a battle this is at once difficult and necessary and it will not go away.
Originally published in the Cape Breton Post on Monday, February 4, 2008.
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