Quebec Students Protest Again

                                               Quebec Students Protest Again

They got an inch, now they’re going for a mile. Well I think they’ve got a point – sort of. But they’re going after the wrong people – sort of. The thing is that the legislation is all wrong, not only in Quebec, but everywhere. It should be updated all across the country. I agree with the students that they should not have to pay to provide employers with the talent they need to run their companies. At the same time I do not agree that students should be able to take some artsie-fartsie program that leads nowhere other than to teach the same course to others for free, or to be able to go to university on daddy’s dime as a professional student.

What I do agree with is that governments should put an education tax upon employers to provide for such education according to industry’s needs as part of their business license. This would soon establish a substantial college fund on which students may borrow to pay for their tuition. Once a degree or diploma has been achieved and the student is hired on by industry, the industry buys up the student’s loans, and the student is free and clear of any debt. The investment then is that of industry. That’s just as it should be. If students on the other hand don’t obtain their degrees or diplomas or are not hired on by industry – well – tough titty. They’re on their own dime.

If you think that this wouldn’t lay out a whole new dynamic for students and studies as well as industry and commerce, think again. And the legislatures would finally be able to do what their name implies – that is – legislate. Universities and colleges would offer courses as dictated by industry and commerce as opposed to some wing-ding idea coming out of some intellectual’s academic imagination. That will finally give some useful purpose to these institutions of higher learning.

I know universities have long had the reputation of being institutions where people can explore intellectual pursuits of every kind and to be able to freely discuss and debate the merits of such pursuits. Well, that might be a laudable hobby, but it’s not sustainable. Anyone wanting to participate in such activities will have to pay for it. Well really, there’s even an alternate solution to that too. I’m sure the universities could put up brown paper bag dispensers. That way students with that passion for the search for knowledge can put some coin into the machine, take the bag into a corner, stick their heads into them and meditate. That’s cash and carry intelligence. At least that’s how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

 

Just sayin’.