安省教育界大地震！8000人失业，留学生锐减的“后遗症”来了！

Ontario colleges have been shedding thousands of jobs over the past year in what isbeing described as one of the largest mass layoffs in the province’s history by theunion that represents most college faculty.

安大略省的学院在过去一年中裁减了数千个职位，这一举措被代表大多数学院教职员工的工会描述为该省历史上规模最大的裁员之一。

• mass layoffs：大规模裁员

自2024年1月联邦政府对国际学生学习许可设限以来，安省学院系统已失去或将失去超过8000个岗位。

More than 8,000 jobs have been or will be lost in the college sector since the federal government imposed a cap on the number of international study permits in January 2024.

• imposed a cap on...：对……设定上限

• study permits：学习许可，留学签证的官方说法

各院校几个月来陆续宣布裁员和停办项目，但仲裁员的报告首次汇总了全部数字。

Colleges have been announcing layoffs and program closures on an individual basis for months, but the arbitrator’s report brings those numbers together for the first time.

• on an individual basis：分别、逐一进行

• program closures：停办课程/项目

• arbitrator：仲裁员；用于劳动争议中

该报告是学院与代表约1.5万名教职员工的工会进行合同谈判的一部分。

The report was produced as part of a contract negotiation between the colleges and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents about 15,000 college faculty and staff.

• contract negotiation：合同谈判

• faculty and staff：教学与行政人员

OPSEU主席霍尼克表示，此次裁员原本可能不会被披露，是仲裁员主动公开数据才引发关注。

OPSEU president JP Hornick said the scale of the job losses represents one of Ontario’s biggest mass layoffs and had it not been for Mr. Kaplan releasing the numbers, they would have remained buried.

• had it not been for...：虚拟语气，意为“若不是……”

• remained buried：一直被掩盖

“我们将失去近万个岗位，公众却毫不知情。我们要求问责。”

“We will have lost nearly 10,000 jobs with no public scrutiny within the college system,” said Hornick. “We’re looking for some accountability.”

• public scrutiny：公众监督

• accountability：问责制，强调责任追究

根据省内24所学院中19所提交的数据：超过8000个岗位被裁减，613个为全职教师职位，3370个为兼职、短期教学职位，2400个为支援人员，900多个行政岗位

Mr. Kaplan’s report tallied more than 8,000 job reductions, based on reporting from 19 of 24 of the province’s colleges. 613 were full-time academic positions, 3,370 were part-time or sessional roles, about 2,400 support staff, and over 900 administrative roles.

• tallied：统计出，总计

• support staff：非教学支持人员

• administrative roles：行政岗位

霍尼克称，目前的情况是一种“经典手法”：削减资源、迫使员工离职、恶化条件。

“What we’re seeing is a classic playbook of starving the system of resources, forcing people out and worsening conditions,” Hornick said.

• classic playbook：典型套路

• starving... of...：剥夺……资源

• forcing people out：迫使人员流失

他还表示，全省已有超过650个项目被取消或暂停招生，这将严重冲击地方经济。

Hornick added that the loss of more than 650 programs across the province, which have either suspended admissions or been shut down, will have significant impact on local economies.

• suspended admissions：暂停招生

• significant impact on...：对……造成重大影响

在报告中，卡普兰先生将当前局势描述为“严峻”，并称被暂停或关闭的项目清单“令人震惊”。

In his report, Mr. Kaplan described the situation as “grave” and the list of programs suspended or closed as “alarming.”

• grave：严重的，严峻的（形容局势）；常用于正式语境

• alarming：令人担忧的，触发警觉的

2024年1月，联邦政府对国际学生学习许可的发放数量设定了上限，第一年签证发放量减少35%，并宣布今年再削减10%，旨在缓解住房和医疗保健方面的压力。

In January, 2024, the federal government placed a cap on the number of international study permits that it would process, reducing visa issuance by 35 per cent in the first year and announced a further 10 per cent cut this year, with the aim of easing pressure on housing and healthcare.

• placed a cap on...：对……设限，指数量上限

• visa issuance：签证发放量

• with the aim of...：目的是……（功能性连接短语）

该决定对安大略省学院系统的财务状况产生了重大影响，该系统长期以来一直依赖较高的国际学生学费来资助运营的大部分开支。

That decision has had a massive impact on the finances of the Ontario college system, which had come to rely on much higher international tuition fees to fund a large portion of operations.

• come to rely on：逐渐依赖于……

• fund operations：资助运营（动词 fund 表示“提供资金”）

例如，2022-23年度，24所公立学院的总盈余约为6.6亿加元，这主要得益于国际学生学费收入的增长。

The 24 public colleges ran a collective surplus of approximately $660-million in 2022-23, for example, due largely to growing international tuition revenue.

• collective surplus：总体盈余

• due largely to...：主要是因为……

但2021年，当时的省级审计长曾警告称，过度依赖国际学费对整个教育体系构成严重财务风险。

But in 2021, the province’s auditor-general at the time had warned that overreliance on international tuition posed a serious financial risk to the entire system.

• auditor-general：审计长

• overreliance：过度依赖

• posed a risk：构成风险，常用于政策和金融语境

在她的报告中，邦妮·莱斯克表示：“该部尚未制定针对该领域的战略计划，以帮助缓解国际学生突然减少的风险及其可能对高等教育部门造成的影响。”

In her report, Bonnie Lysyk said “the ministry has not developed a strategic plan for the sector to help mitigate the risk of a sudden decline in international students and the impact it could have on the college sector.”

• develop a strategic plan：制定战略计划

• mitigate the risk：降低风险

• sudden decline：骤减

在18个月前实施限制措施后，国际学生人数急剧下降，高校预见到未来将出现赤字，因此开始裁员并削减项目。

When the number of international students plummeted after the cap was introduced 18 months ago, colleges – foreseeing deficits ahead – began to cut jobs and programs.

• plummeted：骤降（常用于数据、价格、人数）

• foreseeing deficits ahead：预见到赤字即将到来

• cut jobs and programs：裁员与项目缩减并列表达

在报告中总结各学院的立场时，卡普兰先生写道，他们认为在没有国际学生学费的情况下，无法筹集足够资金来维持运营并保留现有项目。

In his summary of the colleges’ position in his report, Mr. Kaplan wrote they did not believe they had enough money to fund their operations and maintain existing programs without the foreign student fees.

• fund operations and maintain programs：常见双动词并列结构

• foreign student fees：国际学生学费

学院雇主委员会表示，没有理由相信省级拨款会增加以提供援助。

The College Employer Council said there was no reason to believe help was on its way in the form of increased provincial funding.

• help was on its way：援助即将到来（比喻）

• in the form of...：以……的形式

“事实上，安大略省政府已明确表示：各学院必须通过提高效率和削减成本来解决财政难题，”卡普兰先生写道。

“In fact, the Ontario government had made its expectations clear: the colleges needed to solve their fiscal challenges through efficiencies and cost reductions,” Mr. Kaplan wrote.

• made its expectations clear：明确表态

• fiscal challenges：财政困境

• efficiencies and cost reductions：效率提升和成本削减

霍尔尼克表示，大学管理层和由道格·福特领导的省政府都应对就业岗位和项目流失负责。

Hornick said college administrators and the provincial government led by Doug Ford are both to blame for the loss of jobs and programs.

• are to blame for...：应为……承担责任

• loss of jobs and programs：岗位与项目流失

“福特政府执政已满七年，却一直对该系统严重拨款不足，”霍尔尼克指出，自2019年起实施的国内学生学费冻结政策阻碍了高校的筹资能力，且每名学生的拨款额度在全国范围内最低。

“The Ford government’s been in there for seven years and has been chronically underfunding the system,” Hornick said, referring to a tuition fee freeze for domestic students that has been in place since 2019, hampering the colleges’ ability to raise funds, and a rate of per-student funding that is the lowest in the country.

• chronically underfunding：长期拨款不足

• fee freeze：学费冻结

• hampering... ability：妨碍……的能力

• per-student funding：每生拨款

比安卡·贾科博尼，安大略省教育厅厅长诺兰·奎因的发言人，表示工会提出的指控毫无根据且不实。

Bianca Giacoboni, a spokesperson for Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security Nolan Quinn, said the claims made by OPSEU are baseless and false.

• spokesperson：发言人

• baseless and false：无根据且错误，政治回应常用措辞

“仅在过去14个月中，我们就向公立高等教育机构提供了前所未有的巨额新资金，其中超过20亿用于学院和大学，此外每年还向该领域投入50亿，”贾科博尼女士表示。

“In the last 14 months alone, we have provided unprecedented amounts of new funding to our publicly-assisted postsecondary sector, with over $2-billion in new funding into our colleges and universities, on top of the $5-billion we put into the sector every year,” said Ms. Giacoboni.

• unprecedented amounts：前所未有的金额

• publicly-assisted postsecondary sector：公共资助的高等教育系统

• on top of...：在……基础上，表示额外投入

“由于联邦政府单方面对国际学生体系进行改革，全国高等教育领域正面临艰难决策。”

“Due to the federal government’s unilateral changes to the international student system, difficult decisions are being made across the country in the postsecondary sector.”

• unilateral changes：单方面变更

• difficult decisions：艰难抉择，政治语境常用

安大略省学院协会代理总裁莫琳·亚当森表示，各学院正与省政府合作，“以解决该行业面临的财务困境，并培养我们经济所需的毕业生。”

Maureen Adamson, interim president of Colleges Ontario, said colleges are working with the provincial government “to solve the financial headwinds of the sector and produce the graduates our economy needs.”

• interim president：临时总裁，代理总裁

• financial headwinds：财务逆风，比喻财政压力

• produce graduates：培养毕业生