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Higher education is a life-changing event to the learners. It is very vital to the prosperity of the nation as a whole. Public sector management practices include, but not limited to, policy, legislation, and financial governance and oversight activities that either the university or government might use concerning programs at the University. The federal government of Canada under 1982 the Constitution Act is responsible for funding higher education opportunities for Aboriginal learners (Turner 93). The education cost is subsidized by the federal government. Canadian Higher Education (Public postsecondary education) derives the majority of its funding from territorial and federal government sources.
Provincial governments provide 45 percent funding, most of which is direct funding for public education in Canada (Mullis 105). The tuition fee paid by an individual caters for the balance as well as the federal government that provides for 9.3 percent (Mullis 105). The fact that the funding favors the aboriginal students, the international learners incurring the cost of the programs pay very high amounts. The sponsorship from the government does not include them. The Canada students’ loan programs granted to the learners are also not given to the international learners and those paying for themselves. That way, the cost of the program is not subsidized by any chance. If the learner comes from a province that has an integrated student loan program, he or she gets only one loan, which is disseminated at the provincial level (Finnie 68). An Aboriginal learner may apply for grants and receive it after being confirmed that they are worth the subsidies.
From 2001 to 2011 the cost of higher education has grown faster than inflation in Canada. A research conducted in 2011 has shown that 64 percent of Canadians believe that the cost of postsecondary education is too high (Finnie 68). It is, therefore, important to restore per capita funding to 1992 levels. Reducing tuition fee to that level, and eliminating deferred maintenance at Canada’s postsecondary institutions would not only be a relief to those paying for themselves, but also to those paying for themselves (Turner 93). Debts on students on previous federal and provincial governments have forced students to take more education-related debts than any other previous generation. It is a fact that middle-class earnings have largely stagnated in the past 20 years. This has made the Canadians sacrifice to prepare themselves for an evolving workplace. The little earning is not proportional to the cost of education. That way, many learners get through the program on debts.
A few years ago, almost 430 000 students were forced to borrow funds to finance education. In a day, the aggregate loans disbursed by Canada Students Loan Program fewer totals of loan repayments received are almost $1 million. Going by September 2009 statistics, the total amounts of student loans owed to the government then, reached $15 billion (Lee 1-9). These are very high debts, considering that these figures on account for a portion of the total student debt, not including provincial and personal loans, lines of credit and education related credit securities. It has led to potential students being reluctant taking on the just debt and associated risks required to pay for a university degree.
Research results find that debt levels have a direct impact on success and retention in the sense that students with higher debt levels are far less likely to complete their degree courses. According to Moore et al (13) worth noting is that student debt distorts the career choice, especially among professionals. This, in turn, undermines access to the due care and aids for the reason that law and medical students are prompted by the debt levels to seek higher paying jobs. The jobs may not necessarily fall within their first choices. By this, it would be right to conclude that student’s debts tend to drive committed young doctors away.
In Canada, the constitutional responsibility for post-secondary education is given to the provinces of Canada. In 1982, the ‘constitution Act’ was passed, and the Act stated that within the Provinces, the Legislative arm of the government may exclusively make Laws concerning Education” (Turner 93). As a result of this constitutional arrangement, a diagnostic higher education system has evolved in each province. The sectors are responsible for developing programs that suit the society as a whole. That way, the public universities of which Dalhousie University is among them, gets flexible in developing programs that will satisfy the societal needs. A learner may choose a course from the list of the courses offered.
The aggressiveness and advancement of the provincial governance highly determine the quality of programs provided in an institution. Dalhousie University is among the lucky institutions which the management has put much effort in enhancing quality education programs. However, there is commercialized research, such that the research facilities have become increasingly scarce. Universities have replaced tenure-track professors with contract academic staff (Mullis 217). This has made graduates to encounter challenges in acquiring jobs after completing their courses. Besides, the act of restoring public interest with private commercialization undermines broader research aims of the country.
About the culture and history of Canada, there was the adoption of the official languages act that was passed in 1969 and later revised in 1988 (Turner 93). The education is offered using the official languages. These languages are English and French. Considering that an international, learner may find studying at Dalhousie University, the policy does not change to suit the student. Some learner may not be conversant to both or either of the languages. An instructor may choose any language and for those who do not know the language find it difficult to learn. However, the choice of the two official languages of Canada as the medium of education brings together learners from all ethnic groups and makes the education relevant to enhancing integration of different people.
In conclusion, the public sector management practices affect the operation and programs offered by Dalhousie University that can be taken as a microcosm of the entire post-secondary education in Canada. It raises a question of the priorities for the government spending. Systems by the legislature have a far-reaching effect in some cases. There need to be strict accountability for the federal funding and increased value and number of non-repayable grants available to students. It can be done by re-directing funds allocated to education-related tax credits and savings schemes to the Canada Student Grants program. Removal of the many barriers to access education is a thing of policy and implementation. Such barriers include limited funding options, commercialized and restrictive research environments, rising tuition fees, less access to need-based grants and high levels of students’ debts just to mention but a few.
Works Cited
Finnie, Ross. Who Goes? Who Stays? What Matters?: Accessing and Persisting in Post-Secondary Education in Canada. Kingston, Ont: School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University, 2008. Print.
Lee, Marc. Alternative Federal Budget 2009 Economic and Fiscal Update: Retooling Canadian Fiscal Policy for the Coming Recession. Ottawa, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2008. Print.
Moore, Kathleen, Kaniasty, Krzysztof, and Buchwald, Petra. Stress and Anxiety: Application to Economic Hardship, Occupational Demands, and Developmental Challenges. Berlin: Logos Berlin, 2012. Print
Mullis, Ina V. S. Pirls. Encyclopedia: Education Policy and Curriculum in Reading. Boston: TIMSS & PIRLS international study center, 2012. Print.
Stress and Anxiety-Application to Economic Hardship, Teacher Stress, Childhood, and Coping. Berlin: Logos Berlin, 2012. Print
Turner, Francis J. The Canadian Encyclopedia of Social Work. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2005. Print