OSHAWA, Ont. - The McGuinty government must use its May 11 budget to reinforce the Rae report and make major investments in Ontario's colleges, Bev Balenko, chief operating officer at Durham College said today.
"Premier Dalton McGuinty has said his government will 'breathe some life' into the Rae report in this spring budget," said Balenko. "To make this real, there must be significant increases this year in funding to colleges."
In his comprehensive review of post-secondary education, former premier Bob Rae said Ontario must produce greater numbers of skilled college graduates in order to remain internationally competitive. To produce more graduates, Rae said the colleges need an additional $400 million by 2007-08.
Currently, Ontario is tenth of the 10 provinces in Canada in per-student revenue to colleges. Ontario's colleges need to invest new funding in priority areas such as new faculty and staff, new resources and lab equipment, and new industry-standard technology and training methods.
To reinforce their message, Ontario's colleges recently launched an edgy advertising and online campaign, www.fundcollegesnow.ca, which promotes the importance of college education in today's high-tech economy.
"Bob Rae was right. It is unacceptable to have only half of the young people in Ontario accessing a post-secondary education," said Balenko. "Ontario must commit to the skills and training of its workforce."
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For 38 years, Durham College has been committed to providing job-focused programs, accomplished professors, quality-driven innovation, student success and superior accountability. Our college has ranked first in provincial indicators for student satisfaction in the GTA for six years running, and at an 89.7 per cent grad employment rate, we have the highest ranking of the six GTA colleges. We've got over 5,500 full-time and 22,000 part-time students enrolled in just under 100 programs, as well as about 2,000 apprentices. For more information, visit our website at www.durhamcollege.ca, or call 905.721.2000.
For more information, please contact:
Tania Henvey
Communications and Marketing
905.721.3111 ext. 2513
tania.henvey@durhamcollege.ca
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