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Summerside fights college closure [CA-PE]

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Author: 
CBC PEI
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Article
Publication Date: 
9 Apr 2004
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Summerside City Council is angry about a decision to shut down several college programs in Summerside.

Councillors met with college officials and the provincial government on Thursday to see if anything could be done to keep the courses in Summerside.

Summerside City Council hoped a public meeting might help to keep the Holland College Summerside Centre open. Last week, the college announced five programs would be cancelled.

Accounting student Jennifer Taylor is baffled by the decision. "They're trying to get people off the streets to get an education," she says. "When they discourage us from getting an education by shutting down the centres there's nothing to look forward to."

Environmental technology and resource management courses are on hold. Students in accounting technology and business will go to Charlottetown next year.

That's causing worry among students about costs for travel and child care.

"About 50 per cent of accounting and business students have children," says Taylor. "And they live in O'Leary and Tignish so they already drive an hour to go to classes."

Holland College president Alex MacAulay says the Summerside Centre has outlived its usefulness. "The reality is Holland College has no more use for the Summerside Centre," he says. "The decision has been approved by the Holland College board of governors and we plan to vacate Summerside Centre on June 30."

- reprinted from the CBC-PEI