During the consultative process,
those people of the Kootenays who participated overwhelmingly demonstrated
that, while degrees may be a long term goal, their more immediate
educational needs require career training and retraining, skilled
trades and technologies, adult basic education, new apprenticeship
programs, and opportunities for professional upgrading. Priority
educational programs should focus on helping deal with job loss
resulting from shifts in industries and changes in economies, with
problems arising from social changes in family structures, and with
environmental crises. People of the Kootenays feel that it is important
for educational opportunities to be accessible, affordable, equitable,
comprehensive, responsive, accountable and of high quality.
Also identified as top priority
needs are programs to assist in developing alternative creative
lifestyles and expectations consistent with sustainable possibilities.
There is a clear understanding that the times demand not new physical
structures or centralized traditional hierarchical educational institutions,
but rather the recycling and reuse (or better use) of the buildings
and resources already available in the region, and the reprogramming
and restructuring of existing institutions to make possible a true
learning society.
Five significant themes for change
emerged as directives:
1. Increase
accessibility, flexibility and comprehensiveness through new delivery
systems - Educational opportunities should be closer
to home and learning available from many sources (international,
national and provincial).
2. Restructure
and reprogram to meet the needs of the information age - There
should be continuous changes in programs and curriculum in order
to keep current and to be relevant. Develop alternative delivery
systems for post-secondary education, and provide greater support
for satellite campuses to meet the specialized needs of the various
communities in the region.
3. Develop
collaborative partnerships - There should be a move
away from "stand-alone" institutions competing with
each other, toward collaborative, integrated systems that put
the needs of the learners first, while providing flexible, high
quality, current educational programs, services and supports.
4. Strengthen
economic and educational links - In planning for consolidation
of programs and for future educational expansion, the unique economic
interests and priorities of each community must be considered.
These must relate to a regional economic plan which, in turn,
links to a provincial one.
5. Integrate
regional planning - All education initiatives undertaken
by publicly-funded agencies in the region should be integrated.
A shared commitment to lifelong
learning can bring about the needed total transformation of the
region into one that can support economic needs within a framework
of harmonious relationships. The changes being recommended demand
interaction, sharing and linkages among government, business, industry
and education. The Review Panel's strongest recommendations include:
