The Bush administration plans to cut federal funding for vocational institutions this year from $1.3 billion to $1 billion. Along with this national finance cut, Gov. George Pataki proposed an additional 25 percent cut in the New York State budget for vocational education, according to an article in the New York Times.
Vocational schools are legitimate alternatives to traditional education methods, and these centers of trade must be publicly funded. These schools give students the opportunity to receive an education in specified fields of trade not usually offered in traditional academic high schools and universities, such as auto-body repair and aviation. These trade schools are ideal for students who are not academically-inclined or have interest in the subjects taught in traditional schools, as well as those who already have an idea of what their future professions will be. Taking away funding for vocational schools only hurts the opportunities for an entire section of our educational system.
While the general consensus is that students need a high school and college education to succeed in life, this generalization is not always true. Many feel they already have a handle on where they are headed in life and use vocational schools as a direct path to their calling, instead of trudging their way through high school and college. Students should not have to be forced through numerous years of school if they already have decided on a profession - even if it isn't glamorous.
Brad Smith, who runs the New York vocational education competition, a statewide competition that pits talented students of similar trades against each other, feels the stereotypical views of a "good" education are misleading. "We're losing sight of the real purpose of education. We'll always need people to fix our cars, build our houses, cut our hair. Not everyone needs college."
However, the Bush administration contests this point of view, making it known that it plans to focus on the welfare of traditional high school students. Along with the $300 million that will be cut this year, the Bush administration plans to end all federal funding for vocational schools in 2004, and intends to reallocate the $1 billion to aid students who pass state tests mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act, according to the New York Times. This act focuses on allocating funding to schools that progress toward state designated standards, but cuts funding and benefits for institutions that drop in quality or fail to progress.
Although it is commendable that the Bush administration strongly believes in the No Child Left Behind Act, funding can't be taken from an established form of education to fund this act that is currently contested by school administrations across the nation.
For those who believe vocational schools are steering students from traditional education, the army, navy and similar military regimes are specific trade centers that encourage students to work their way to college. Many enlist because they cannot afford to pay for a college education, and as they strengthen their bodies and minds, they are earning the money to further their education.
It can be said that universities and traditional education are not for everyone, and that is the reason vocational schools are necessary. Many students do not have the mindset to absorb the massive amounts of general knowledge expelled throughout the high school and college years, and they should have the option to find an alternate and more direct method of education that is not only beneficial for them, but also for society. Funding must not be cut from vocational schools, because even though a college-educated doctor is more prestigious than a trade school electrician, that doctor is going to need the electrician if the light goes out over his operating table.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
