FREDERICTON--The New Brunswick government's new post-secondary education plan puts an unfair burden on international students. The government's plan prioritizes growing enrollment through aggressive recruitment abroad combined with deregulated tuition fees for international students.

"It's disconcerting that the New Brunswick government sees international students one-dimensionally: as an 'untapped resource' for the post-secondary education system. However, exploiting international students as a means to make-up the funding shortfall is short-sighted and unfair," said Canadian Federation of Students New Brunswick Representative Neil Cole. "New Brunswick has clear labour-market shortages. Saddling international students with massive student debt will not encourage them to stay here."

The province's plan makes some positive steps with respect to accessibility and affordability, but it fails to significantly address the needs of low income students and the growing debt burden that students are forced to take on. "New Brunswick experienced one of the highest tuition increases for the 2007/2008 school year and we pay, on average, the highest tuition fees in the country next to Nova Scotia" said Cole "If the Graham Liberals are serious about accessibility and affordability, then significant and long-term commitments need to be made in the way of funding that lowers tuition fees, provides more needs-based grants, and more debt reduction assistance for our province's graduates."

The provincial government's plan, entitled "Be inspired. Be ready. Be better", also proposes an unbalanced research funding scheme. Graduate student research that is closely tied to short-term industry projects will get preferential treatment over basic research. Students are also skeptical about the establishment of a new council to oversee university research that will increase direct government control over the university's priorities. This includes a proposal to influence and direct research collaboration between businesses and universities to support the so-called "Self-Sufficiency" agenda.

"We are very concerned that the government's plan for post-secondary education puts politics ahead of independent academic inquiry, ultimately threatening funding for graduate students carrying out basic research," said Cole. "The province needs a balanced funding strategy that enshrines the importance of independent academic research if graduate students are to undertake world-class research and innovation over the long-term."