Quebec Student Strike: It's a good thing.

If they can, so can you!

I can't be a blogger about education and not say anything about what is going on in Quebec!

Whichever way you look at it, those students have guts. Some people are saying they need to get real- the rest of the country is paying double what they pay in tuition.

They say, Stop whining and grow up." But I agree with the students. 

" It isn't fair. It isn't fair," they complain. That's right. A wise guy (my husband actually) said, "Innovation isn't fair."

What those kids are doing will result in fairness in the long run. The students in Quebec are pushing for more: more opportunities for education, more democracy for everyone.  

This is a good thing. So what's up with the rest of Canada? Why aren't more students out there- pushing for free or cheaper education?

Free education (funded through taxation rather than tuition) is no new thing. Many countries have free or at least super cheap, higher education that in some cases is even extended to foreigners! These countries include the Northern European nations- Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, and Germany and Austria. 

Scotland has free tuition and many EU kids flock over there. Argentina, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Cuba are some more examples of countries that make it possible for everyone to access higher ed if they want it. 

Then there's the fact that 'open source' has become a reality. If you still haven't heard about the 'open source movement,' now is a good a time to do so.

'Open source' means that more and more, education is going to be cheaper-not more expensive.This extends to higher ed. Easily, readily accessible, colleges and universities are starting to offer their course materials for free; to whomever wants it. 

That is the way the world wants it to be. Collaboration, contribution, innovation.

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People are writing about the student strike (one of the biggest in Canadian history by the way) as being more that a student strike- but an actual social movement.

Naturally, the government has tried to squash their efforts by quickly passing Law 78, a radical legislation making all protests inside or near a college or university campus illegal! 

Additionally the law makes any spontaneous demonstration across Quebec illegal, forcing all to seek discretionary police permission to protest. Huge penalties apply for those who do not conform.  Some Quebec groups are arguing for the adoption of a bank tax, starting at 0.14 per cent and increasing to 0.7 over five years, as a way to raise public funds for post-secondary educational institutions. Here's what one writer reports:  

At a time of financial crisis, banks in Canada and Quebec are securing record profits, over $22.4bn in 2011, a 15 per cent increase from the previous year. Given record bank profits in 2012 and recent reports outlining a secret $114-billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis, the Quebec student proposal to create a relatively tiny tax on financial institutions to benefit education is gaining public traction.

Seems like a good idea to me.