Poor marks for politicians

And you thought their professors were hard markers!

The Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations (ANSSA) – which represents Dalhousie students in lobbying the provincial government – released their report card (PDF) on the post-secondary education planks of the four political parties. And while the Liberal Party emerged with the highest grade, their B- was hardly impressive.

“We’re nowhere near where we need to be,” explained Mark Coffin, former VP Education of the DSU who now serves as ANSSA’s executive director. “There is no party that has demonstrated the full commitment to trying to remedy the problems of our post-secondary system.”

ANSSA representatives, including members of the DSU executive, assembled the report card by comparing the promises and platforms of each party against ANSSA’s public recommendations made at the beginning of the campaign. They included commitment to a holistic review of post-secondary education it the province; an access guarantee ensuring that academically qualified students not be prevented from pursuing their education due to financial barriers; financial support to deal with deferred maintenance projects; and participation in a Pan-Canadian Accord on post-secondary issues.

The Liberals earned a B- largely by virtue of being the only party committed to the comprehensive review. They lost points, though, for not costing out their plans for infrastructure funding. The NDP ranked second with a C grade, with ANSSA questioning whether the money spent on their graduate tax credit would be better used removing up-front barriers to post-secondary access. The Progressive Conservatives earned a C- and were criticized for an RESP tax credit that would primarily help middle- and upper-income families who can already afford university education. The lack of tangible commitments in the Green Party’s platform earned a D from the student organization.

“We put the students’ perspective at the forefront when evaluating the parties, looking at what’s in the best interest of post-secondary education,” said DSU President Shannon Zimmerman, who expressed her disappointment that this is yet another election that will take place while many students are away.

“It’s not easy, but we’re doing as much as we can to make sure students who are in town are engaged in the issues,” said Rob LeForte, DSU VP education.

To that effect, students from Dal and SMU are teaming up on Tuesday, May 26 to hold an “intersection blitz” at Robie and Quinpool, catching motorists’ attention and encouraging them to consider post-secondary education this election. The DSU is also hosting the all-candidates debate for the Halifax Citadel-Sable Island riding Tuesday, May 26 at 7 p.m. in the MacInnis Room. The first two questions will concern post-secondary education.