Pallister promises to double bursaries and scholarships with private donations

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This article was published 28/03/2016 (3813 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Progressive Conservatives, if elected, plan to double the amount of money allotted for post-secondary bursaries and scholarships to $20 million by encouraging more private donations.

PC Leader Brian Pallister said the plan will see the Manitoba Scholarship and Bursary Initiative cap increased to $6.75 million. Currently, every dollar donated by the private sector is matched by the province to a max of $4.5 million. His plan would have the private sector leverage the remainder, bringing the overall total to $20.25 million. He described it as a throwback to former PC premier Gary Filmon’s program in the 1990s.

“It was a one-third (government), two-thirds (the) private sector would come in and you would use the money to lever,” Pallister said. “The NDP changed it when they came in and changed the formula so less money was required to be private donor, more from the government — we’re going to change it back.”

Pallister made the announcement, flanked by students, at the University of Manitoba Monday.

Pallister said his plan will allow for 3,500 more Manitobans to attend post-secondary institutions. He said he will get the private sector on board by reducing barriers to private donors and working with groups such as the Business Council of Manitoba.

The business group lobby has an education award program for aboriginal students wanting to attend post-secondary school.

“Under the Selinger government those barriers have been rising and they have been rising because of taxes eroding the incomes of students,” said Pallister. “They (business council) have told me that they have many more donors that would like to be part of the program, so we are going to work in partnership with them.”

Last week, NDP Leader Greg Selinger pledged $40 million to replace student loans with grants, provide free tuition to students in care up to age 25, and double funding for the Manitoba Scholarship and Bursary Initiative. Mondau. Pallister described the promises as “another part of Selinger’s fantasy package.”

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The Liberals have also pledged to turn Manitoba student loans into non-repayable grants starting in the 2016-17 academic year, at a cost of $10 million annually.

Both the Liberals and NDP criticized Pallister’s emphasis on the private sector for the funds.

“We support real spending on education, but Pallister is assuming two-thirds of his pledge will be picked up by the private sector and you know what happens when you assume,” said Manitoba Liberal spokesman Mike Brown in a prepared statement.

NDP spokesman Andrew Tod called the plan “bad for students, bad for families, and bad for colleges and universities,” in a statement.

kristin.annable@freepress.mb.ca