Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk had nothing but kind words at first for the agency that regulates and oversees private career-training outfits, during the news conference where he announced he’s dissolving it.
But the longer he talked, the more problems he disclosed about the Private Career Training Institutions Agency.
By the end of a half-hour conference call, the thing was clearly portrayed as dysfunctional leftover, an outfit with a compromised board of directors presiding over a sky-high student loan default rate, and something that needs to be snuffed out as soon as possible.
He and Core Review Minister Bill Bennett made the move on Thursday, naming a deputy minister to be the public administrator that winds down the 10-year-old agency.
They started out gently. “While the PCTIA has served hundreds of institutions and thousands of students very well for 10 years, changes are required to keep up with the sector’s ongoing evolution.”
The changes entail shutting the $2.7-million-a-year operation down and folding its function into the Advanced Education Ministry. The statement said that will “allow government to provide more support to the sector” and be more consistent with the rest of Canada.
But as Virk started explaining the shutdown, it became clear that providing more support to the private outfits wasn’t exactly top of mind with him. One of the first things on his mind was that 70 per cent of board members that run the Crown corporation are appointed from the industry itself.
He said over the last decade, there were cases where complaints about private academies were filed and the owners of those businesses were on the board overseeing the agency that dealt with the complaints.
Virk said there were concerns the relationship was “no longer arm’s length.” Not that it ever was.
It was set up that way from the outset and over time, enough problems developed that NDP MLA Michelle Mungall tried to introduce a private-member’s bill that would require government to pick all the directors and toughen up enforcement.
Virk and Bennett could have just made that change. But another problem apparently prompted them to go well beyond that sort of tinkering.
That’s the sky-high default rate on student loans made to students in the private training colleges. Virk said it was double the rate in public institutions.
He said 17 to 18 per cent of people enrolled in the various private training colleges default on student loans, compared to seven to eight per cent in the public schools. He said about $40 million in loans is outstanding over the past few years.
The rate and the amount is disturbing, he said, and he wants a look at whether the training schools are offering programs the labour market can’t support. “We want to have to have a good hard look at that.”
He questioned whether it’s the schools, their programs or a missing link between the courses and the job market that prompts the high number of defaults.
The problem hasn’t been looked at with the appropriate rigour and “bringing it back into government will apply the additional rigour we can only do from our level.”
He said the government won’t be blocking training schools from offering courses. But if the courses don’t find favour with the ministry, “I may not offer a student loan for that program.”
So the additional “support” to the industry promised at the outset of the announcement could well turn out to be encouragement to upgrade their course selection or see their students cut off from student loans.
Student loans are already under review by Virk’s ministry, so it’s unclear how PCTIA factors into that problem. It’s mandate is to set standards and provide consumer protection for students.
Just four months ago, Virk delivered a letter of expectation to the agency that demanded it do a comprehensive engagement strategy, develop a communications plan and implement a financial stability plan. It also made various references to the mid-term future.
It’s safe to assume the expectations weren’t met.
