Is backlash over bursaries on the money?

Re: B.C. announces scholarships for internationals, June 19

When I read the B.C. government announced scholarships of $1,250 per year for international students studying here, I saw red! I am incensed this would even be considered when our school system is in dire need of more funding. We have many B.C. students who need financial help to stay in school and succeed. JENNY SHKURHAN Chilliwack

Education Minister Peter Fassbender just found $150,000 in the budget to fund education. That has to be good news for British Columbians, right? It will mean more money to reduce class sizes, more money to support children with learning difficulties, or more money to upgrade school buildings.

Wrong. That money is earmarked for scholarships for students in China, Japan and South Korea to attend B.C. universities. Just how B.C. taxpayers want their money spent! WENDY DUBOIS Coquitlam

Friday’s announcement by Education Minister Peter Fassbender the province would begin awarding scholarships of $1,250 to students from China, South Korea and Japan has provoked a critical response from some, with many objecting to money being spent on foreign students instead of those at home.

Considering the problems with education funding, this concern is heartfelt and relevant, though some online response has a definite racial undercurrent to it.

What has been left out, however, is the proposed program is unreciprocated. B.C. students have many chances to study in Asia, with these countries picking up the tab. Taiwan and China, for example, offer generous programs that provide tuition and housing expenses for post-secondary and graduate students from B.C. and elsewhere in Canada. In comparison, a scholarship for $1,250 from the B.C. government looks small. Unfortunately, these opportunities are under-promoted, given the importance of East Asia to B.C.’s economy.

Local students and institutions need better funding, but criticism of the proposed scholarships is misdirected. A more productive debate would focus on administering the program. Does it make sense to provide a large number of relatively small scholarships ($1,250) to people who could probably afford to study here anyway, or adopt a more targeted approach, offering larger scholarships for specific programs of study to a smaller number of students from East Asia who might otherwise never get the chance to study in B.C.? JONATHAN HENSHAW History department, UBC