It was like the final question of a mid-term exam for Okanagan-Shuswap federal election candidates.

Only instead of writing their answer, they had to give it orally.

Five of the six candidates contesting the right to represent the riding in Ottawa – independent candidate Gordie Campbell was absent – spoke at a forum Monday night in the lecture theatre at the Kalamalka campus of Okanagan College.

The topic, with a crowd of 50 students and public in attendance, was how the candidate’s respective political party, if elected on Tuesday, “will provide the necessary ongoing resources that will allow a greater number of citizens to access post-secondary education in a meaning, non-penurious (ie poverty-stricken; destitute) way, in their home communities.”

The forum was hosted and sponsored by the Kal Campus Students’ Association, and the Okanagan College Faculty Association.

Chosen at random, the first to speak was Liberal candidate Janna Francis, who told the crowd Liberal leader Stephane Dion’s platform for post-secondary education will provide the necessary resources that leads to graduates having a livable wage after completing their course of study.

“A Liberal government will make post-secondary education accessible by boosting and simplifying existing support for students, and offering more tax credits and student loans to apprentices,” said Francis, adding the Liberals will replace existing tuition and education tax credits for full-time post-secondary students with an education grant payable to each student every three years.

The Liberals will also create a 20-year education endowment fund, in co-operation with the provinces, which would provide 200,000 needs-based and access-based bursaries, and that all students would be eligible for guaranteed student loans of $5,000 regardless of parental income.

Huguette Allen, the Green Party candidate, felt right at home at the lectern, telling the crowd she worked at a community college in Quebec for eight years.

Allen said the Greens consider education an investment, not an expense.

“What happens when people are educated is that they are much more helpful to their communities and to their country as a whole,” said Allen. “We will make education more relevant and accessible by working on developing local economies...No student should ever be prevented from getting the education they need over questions of money.”

The Green Party, said Allen, would give direct financial aid to students; transfer payments to post-secondary institutions after negotiations with the provinces, and work with the provinces to set goals of reducing tuition fees to a manageable level.

Canadian Action Party candidate Darren Seymour told the crowd that the federal government has “sold you out, that your student loans were created money that never existed before, and turned you into a debt slave to the private banks.”

“We would treat education as a public investment,” said Seymour. “We would give direct loans to students. We’d provide those loans from your bank accounts at low or no interest rates instead of making you a slave to the private banks.”

His party, added Seymour, would transfer $1-to-$1.5-billion to each province each year for the sole purpose of lowering tuition fees.

Incumbent Colin Mayes of the Conservatives reiterated to the crowd how his government has increased funding for post-secondary education by $800 million, a 40-per cent increase.

“That’s evidence of our concern that we have the best educated workforce in the world,” said Mayes, who reminded students that getting an education strictly for education sake is not necessarily a good thing.

“All the diplomas and certificates you can get, but if you haven’t got the ability to exercise those skills and the knowledge gained, it’s not going to do you any good. You need to have an economy and the institutions and places that you can use those skills.”

NDP candidate Alice Brown, an electrician by trade, was the final candidate to speak, drawing laughs when she chimed “they saved the best for last.” She drew attention from the crowd when she pointed out of the 12 kids in her family, she was the only one to pick up an apprenticeship trade.

“My nine brothers are all loggers, and, right now, with the logging industry going for s--t, they want my apprentice,” said Brown, who told the crowd the NDP believes that apprentice programs should be affordable, and that the party doesn’t believe a person should be paying off student loans when they’re retired.

“Eduction is arts-based, technology-based and apprenticeship-based, and we support it all,” said Brown.

Questions from the floor were sparse, so moderator Craig McLuckie sent everyone to an informal meeting at the campus’s cafeteria.

Teren Sunstrum, 19, a second-year general arts student at the Kal campus, enjoyed the forum, but felt the candidates did a poor job of answering the main question.

“Most of the candidates kind of went away from their answers, or what was being asked,” said Sunstrum, who will cast her first-ever vote on Tuesday, and who came away from Monday’s forum impressed with Francis and Allen.

Wes Burchnall, 23, studying in the Bachelor of Sciences program, attended the forum to make a more informed decision when it comes to placing his vote Tuesday. Burchnall was impressed with Mayes.

“He stated a few facts and figures on how he plans to get things done,” said Burchnall. “Some of the other candidates talked a lot about philosophy, but not about any facts or figures. The Green Party and Conservative Party representatives showed the most business sense.”