B.Ed programs, student grants likely issues in fall legislature

Following a hard-fought spring session in the legislature, opposition education critics intend to bring forward a few new issues, and track the progress of past promises.

The Nova Scotia legislature will resume on Oct. 30 for the fall session. (Photo courtesy of gov.ns.ca/legislature)

The Nova Scotia legislature resumes this week, but don’t expect post-secondary education issues to take centre stage for the fall session.

Dan Harrison, a communications spokesman from the Department of Education, confirmed that because of an intense spring session in the legislature for education issues, the fall session, which starts on Oct. 30, would be “fairly light” in terms of the post-secondary issues on the agenda.

The spring session saw the Memorandum of Understanding legislation passed, which froze tuition rates at their current levels for the next three years and provided stable funding to universities. The Nova Scotia University Student Bursary Trust, which gives money to Nova Scotia students to help with tuition costs, also passed.

Harrison confirmed that the province will introduce one piece of legislation - the Education Act. The act will require universities to seek permission from the Nova Scotia Minister of Education before they can offer a bachelor of education program.

Previous years have seen universities offer bachelors of education in conjunction with other universities outside the province. Cape Breton University had an agreement with Memorial University in Newfoundland since 2003.  Dalhousie scrapped plans for a partnership with Memorial in May that would have seen a new B.Ed program in Halifax.  Permission from the Minister is intended, in part, to reduce the surplus of teachers in the province.

Leo Glavine, the education critic for the Nova Scotia Liberal caucus, said that despite the rigorous spring session, he plans to push for legislation that would provide “true needs-based grants” for students who may fall short of funding even after their student loans. Glavine, a member of the legislative assembly for Kings West, said many of his constituents have brought this issue up.

“It’s one major area that I will definitely be bringing up in the legislature ... that still stands out as I speak with families and high school students – the reality that many Nova Scotians of very poor means do not even consider post-secondary education,” said Glavine.

Another area to pursue, said Glavine, is the matter of parental contribution in determining the amount of money a student can receive in loans from the provincial government.  Glavine said he would like to see parental income removed as a factor in the student loans process.

Leonard Preyra, the post-secondary education critic for the NDP, said he intended to ensure the provincial government was keeping up with the promises it made in the previous legislative sessions.

The state of the economy is also of concern, said Preyra, adding that it may affect the status of the memorandum of understanding.

"We've been pushing hard in the last two sittings, so we'd like to consolidate that," said Preyra.

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