Quebec announced on Thursday that it will slash $19 million from college budgets. Education Minister, Yves Bolduc, said that the cuts were necessary and that they should not affect student services.
But Bernier says that they will in the long run.
« We cut temporary and dropped a new project that would have used councillors to help teachers in different aspects, to help them in their everyday tasks. This affects students in the long run », he said.
He added that job postings have been stalled since early summer and that his administration has curbed extra expenses to prevent having to drop projects as the academic year went on.
He also stated that although Vanier College has a little surplus – used to improve and maintain school buildings – the administration will need to slack on maintenance and general upkeep of school grounds.
« It probably won’t make a difference today, but future generations will be stuck with the results. One day, the buildings will be so old and damaged, they won’t be able to fix it anymore », he added.
It is unclear the total amount that will be cut from Vanier’s budget, but Bernier knows that the $19 million cuts will be divided amongst the province’s 48 CEGEPS and he figures bigger institutions will be more affected.
« It’s not by forcing us to cut our budgets mid-year that we’re going to solve any problems. We need to have a long-term vision. We need to be able to plan », said Bernier, adding that the quality of education cannot sustain the slashes.
« There were students that we had started to welcome in colleges and universities. I am thinking about people with disabilities, which have other ways of learning. We won’t be able to support them anymore », he stated.
That kind of education costs a bundle, he said, and special needs students need attention and care.
« But, we all these cuts, we need to choose between classes of 40 students and restrained classes. We can’t cut $90 million in three years and think that students will not pay the price. »