Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities has announced a $51.6 million investment to create 3,300 new spaces for graduate students over the next three years. Seventy-five per cent of the fund will be allocated to research-based universities.
“In Ontario, a highly skilled workforce is key and the allocation funds is meant to help more students in high-demand sectors,” said Tanya Blazina, spokesperson for the Ministry.
The government seeks to ensure that the use of the investment and resultant research align with their economic agenda.
In all, a total of 1,925 new Master’s and 1,373 new PhD spots will be created. U of T will receive the highest number of spaces and allotments: 588.
This investment attempts to extend Dalton McGuinty’s $6.2-billion Reaching Higher plan for postsecondary education, which prioritizes technological advancement. Much of the fund is being directed into marketable sectors like engineering and environmental studies.
In the midst of a recession, while most Ontario colleges and universities welcome the provincial investments, criticism has come from some student leaders.
“I’m sceptical about where the money is going,” said Sara Suliman, VP external of the Graduate Student Union, “It’s not necessarily going to cover funding for students in school.”
“If the intention is to cover scholarships which have been discontinued because of the recession, then it is a good thing. However from what I understand the money will be going to very short programmes.”
According to Suliman, in a meeting with the dean of arts and sciences it was explicitly said that more positions in terminal masters degree programs were being sought.
Typically, these are one-year professional programs in commerce or engineering which are in high demand but not funded and de-regulated by the university. There are not many scholarships for these positions and they are not necessarily research-based.
“It’s a quick way of recovering money using the economy as a justification” she said. “The intention is not increasing academic positions for students.”
Smaller institutions seeking to build their graduate programs, like OCAD, have expressed disappointment that the investment privileges established research schools.
