![\"Camosun](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/use-this-one-credit-jason-schreurs.jpg\")
<\/a>The approximately 500 domestic students currently studying ESL at Camosun were recently told by the college via email that they will be able to finish their programs, although the cost of doing so past April 30, if any, is unknown.\u00a0The government previously paid students\u2019 tuition for ESL programs at the college.<\/p>\n
At the meetings, representatives from Camosun and the college\u2019s student society urged students to contact all levels of government to voice their concerns about the recent cuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve tried really hard to point out to government all of the things that are going to be problems with this decision, and I don\u2019t believe they fully understand what the results of it are,\u201d Boraas told a packed classroom of students at Interurban. \u201cI hope you will tell your story to government.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Camosun College Student Society explained to students that they are working on a campaign to publicize the effects of the ESL funding cuts.\u00a0They also said they are planning to bring government representatives to the college\u2019s campuses to speak directly to students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re all involved in this bizarre situation that you\u2019re in,\u201d student services coordinator Michael Glover told the students, \u201cso we need to put pressure on all of those different groups.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some students at the meetings expressed their individual concerns and asked questions of the college reps. Most in attendance appeared to agree that the proper course of action was to write letters to government.<\/p>\n
“We need to send a strong message to government to show them how this is affecting people’s lives and why the funding should be returned,” says Hossam Rezk, an ESL student who recently moved to Canada.<\/p>\n
Advanced education opposition critic and New Democrat MLA David Eby says students need to hold the government accountable, whether at the provincial or federal level, and called the cuts \u201csimply inexcusable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea that you are saving money by refusing access to English classes is a joke. The reason is simple: people who can\u2019t speak English can\u2019t get a job in BC and we have many people who come here that need language skills to participate in the economy,\u201d says Eby. \u201cWithout those skills, they won\u2019t be working and they won\u2019t be paying taxes and it\u2019s going to cost our economy significantly. This short-term political thinking ultimately costs us as a larger society.\u201d<\/p>\n
As we told you in the January 8 issue of Nexus<\/em>, the federal government announced $2.5 million in funding cuts to Camosun\u2019s ESL programs catering to domestic students and landed immigrants.<\/p>\n \u201cOur government has been working with BC\u2019s public post-secondary institutions since learning of the federal government\u2019s decision to cancel the Canada-BC Immigration Agreement, which will change the way ESL training is delivered,\u201d said minister of advanced education Amrik Virk in a prepared statement to Nexus<\/em>. \u201cThe ministry provided support last summer for Camosun and other institutions to bid on the direct delivery of ESL. However, the federal government did not select Camosun to deliver ESL programming.\u201d<\/p>\n When the cuts were announced, the $2.5 million amount surprised college officials. Because ESL programs at the college cost only $1.3 million to run, the college will be recovering the additional $1.2 million from the government, according to Boraas. The ministry of advanced education, meanwhile, says funding has not been finalized.<\/p>\n In a January 31 message to faculty and staff, Camosun president Kathryn Laurin said the college has been \u201cassured\u201d by the ministry of advanced education that the amount of the cuts will be adjusted to reflect the true cost of the program.<\/p>\n The college told students at the meetings that they expect to get more information from the government soon. This should include clarification on how students can finish their current studies and transition to the next stage of their educations, according to college reps.<\/p>\n In her college-wide message, Laurin expressed concern for not only students but also the staff who will be affected by the funding cuts. She said a maximum of 13 staff people would lose their jobs as a result.<\/p>\n \u201cMembers of the college community have worked tirelessly to advocate and mitigate this situation,\u201d said Laurin in the message. \u201cI know that the impact will be felt very deeply by many here at the college for a long time to come.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a letter sent by Humphries to all ESL students on January 30, the college currently doesn\u2019t know which institutions or schools in Victoria have received funding for ESL training.<\/p>\n