Wakeham slams Liberals for fumbling MUN's financial struggles

The Progressive Conservative leader is slamming Newfoundland and Labrador's Liberal government for what he calls a failure to support Memorial University in an unfolding fiscal crisis.

"When I think about education, I don't think about it as a cost. I think about it as an investment," Tony Wakeham told CBC Radio's On the Go.

MUN president Neil Bose said late last week the university would curb hiring professors, researchers and other staff to deal with a loss of more than $9.5 million in tuition fees. Enrolment had dropped by 5.4 cent in the fall semester, compared to the fall of 2023.

Bose, whose university cannot by law run a deficit, said tuition fees would not be immediately increased.

Wakeham said the provincial government has a responsibility to invest in the university and meet with students and faculty to hear their concerns.

"We cannot balance the books of the university on the backs of the students," he said. 

Wakeham said no one should be surprised by the problems the university now finds itself in, pointing out the Liberal government has cut $68.4 million in university funding since 2021, when a long-running tuition fee freeze was lifted. 

"That has had an immediate impact on us. And we've now seen it come to fruition, where the university finds itself in the position with the declining enrolment and needing to take further action," Wakeham said. 

We cannot balance the books of the university on the backs of the students.- Tony Wakeham

He said it looks as if the government has forgotten that MUN was founded to educate the people of the province as well as students from all over the world.

While there is a need to respect the university's autonomy, Wakeham said the auditor general recently examined MUN's books and identified inefficiencies.

"We need those recommendations of the auditor general. We need an update on the implementation of those recommendations and where they are at this particular point in time — that needs to be done," he said.

There are problems at the university's administration and infrastructure level, which Wakeham said need a complete review.

"We ought to be sitting down with the people that are interested in keeping MUN and keeping the reputation that it had."

Government is confident in MUN

CBC News asked for an interview with Education Minister Krista Lynn Howell, which was refused. Instead, her office sent a statement which noted the government earmarked almost $400 million in the last budget for MUN. 

"Over 70 per cent of the university's operating revenue comes directly from the provincial government, which is amongst the highest in the country," Howell said in a statement. 

Howell said Memorial is autonomous and that she is confident the university is making decisions that will help fix its current fiscal problems.

"Memorial has committed to making changes and improvements to address budget issues as part of the implementation of the recommendations from the auditor general's report in 2023," 

MUN is a driver

In 2021 MUN's operating grant from the province was 30 per cent higher than the national average and provincial support per student was more than double the average.

Wakeham said the university is an economic driver in the province, with both its manin campus and the Marine Institute in St. John's, and Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook.

"They contribute to our economy and they grow our economy. And that's why this whole thing about education is — so it becomes a question of what does that investment look like?"

But he said there needs to be an understanding over future plans. 

"You can't simply turn around and say, 'We're just cutting' and take a bunch of money out of the budget and say, 'OK, do what you've always done but we're going to give you less money to do it.' That doesn't work," said Wakeham.

In recent years Memorial has increased tuition fees, experienced a drop in enrolment and there has been delayed infrastructure maintenance, said Wakeham, all of which have contributed to the current financial problems MUN is now facing.

"If you're going to have a university, then you ought to be able to invest in education, invest in [the] university and do it in a way that there's a long-term plan and a vision. And everybody is part of the solution."

Wakeham said requests from the students' union, faculty association and the FundMUN coalition to meet with the government have been refused.

"It's like the Liberal government has washed its hands of Memorial University and said, 'You're on your own, go fix your problems.' That's not good enough," said Wakeham.

New Democratic Party Leader Jim Dinn released a letter Tuesday he sent to Premier Andrew Furey over MUN's funding.

"Your government's decision to lift the tuition freeze … has created incredible hardship for students and is impacting the university operations," Dinn wrote.

"To watch the centrepiece, indeed the anchor, of our education system and our culture crumble into disarray during the 75th Anniversary of Confederation is alarming."

Dinn asked Furey to not only restore funding so that the university can freeze tuition fees again, but can increase course offerings.

"Deal with the $481 million in deferred maintenance and give paid work terms for students," Dinn said.

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