"Can you See Me Now" tour --- Christy Clark touches down in Kamloops

Christy Clark's, "Can you See Me Now" tour dropped into Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops today.  The purpose???  To announce the government has, "... a goal of increasing the number of international students by 50 per cent over four years.”

She stated that the province will bring this about through: 

• an international education council to help build strong relationships in both existing and emerging economies, like China, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia. 
• by leveraging B.C.’s trade offices to help connect international students to B.C.’s educational opportunities. 
• by working with communities to prepare them to welcome students from abroad.
• by strengthening the Province’s Education Quality Assurance.
• and by sending more B.C. students overseas to prepare them to work in a global economy.

She also stated that, “International students who study in B.C. create thousands of jobs and bring millions of dollars into local economies.  Our universities are job creators. We are setting clear targets to dramatically increase the number of international students coming to B.C. These students will also help build strong relationships between B.C., Canada and the rest of the world.”

SHE … her government … plans to increase international student enrollment by 50%  -- I find that interesting.

Now I don’t claim to speak for Thompson Rivers University (TRU), but in a story by Cam Fortems in the Kamloops Daily News he indicated that dramatic growth was ALREADY happening …  International students driving growth at TRU. 

In this story, Peter Hilton, vice-provost of student services was quoted as saying that … "We're definitely up. We know there's an increase of international students."

In this same story Cam Fortems went on to say that there were roughly 125 more international students than September, 2010 … and 250 more than the same time last year (Jan 2010).  As of January 2011, the number of international students at TRU was approximately 1,500.

So why do I bring this up???  Only to say that it appears Thompson Rivers University was already doing a GREAT job of attracting international students to its campus here in Kamloops.

In fact it appears that they are doing well enough that Peter Hilton indicated, “…the yearly double-digit growth is beginning to tax the university's resources.”

Fortems story however went on to say that TRU was aware of this problem, which was why they were already at that time in the midst of expanding, “… about 5,000 square feet into what is now an outdoor patio area at the Campus Activity Centre … to deliver international contract training in English as a second language, teacher training and computing …”

Can and should we work to get more students to TRU and other universities in the province? Absolutely!  And it appears that TRU is already well placed and organized to continue doing what they have been currently doing.

That said, I am puzzled why MORE provincial dollars are needed to go into a system that is already working well … and as this story from January of this year indicated --- already experiencing double digit growth??

Advanced Education Minister Naomi Yamamoto even unknowingly agreed that things are going well when she said, “Our educational institutions are renowned for their quality, which is what drives nearly 94,000 students a year to B.C. to further their education.”

Even Environment Minister and Kamloops North Thompson MLA Terry Lake agreed as well … “TRU and the community of Kamloops have worked together to build a Canadian success story in International Education.  As mayor, I travelled to China on a number of occasions on behalf of TRU and they have been extremely successful, developing relationships with many institutions in close to 100 countries.”

Kamloops South Thompson MLA said as much as well in his comments today … “The lessons learned from TRU’s success will be valuable as the Province seeks to grow our international education programs.  We’ve all seen the benefits of international education here in Kamloops and this co-ordinated strategy will help us meet the labour demands ahead and help grow our economy.”

Wait a minute; was he, or is he, indicating that other universities and colleges across the province are not already knowledgeable about the fact international students want to come here to take advantage of our education system?  Is he saying that government needs to tell them this … and to give them money to seek out people that communities like Kamloops, and schools of higher learning like TRU, have already been cultivating  to come here?

The BC government story indicates that , “…a full International Education Strategy will be released later this year.”   It’s a good thing they are waiting till later in the year --- it’s going to take that long to figure out a way to repackage information so that it sounds brand new … on a system that already appears to be working well.

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops … and these are the thoughts of one conservative.