Victoria Goldberg | Editor-in-Chief
Featured image: Although the provincial government introduced new regulations for the Ontario Student Assistance Program to increase grants, tuition fees will still rise under current framework. | Amir Yazdanparast
Students will continue to feel their wallets shrinking and their student debts increasing as the current tuition fee framework has been temporarily extended.
The current regulations of tuition fees for Ontario colleges and universities will allow tuition to increase by three per cent each year. Although the framework was set to expire this year, the government has decided to prolong the policy while a new proposal is being created.
“Our priority is making sure that post-secondary education remains affordable and accessible for all students, and we believe that the best way to increase access to post-secondary education is through a generous student aid program,” says Allison Buchan-Terrell, spokesperson for Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development Deb Matthews.
Over the course of November and December, the government allotted just over 90 minutes for student consultations, according to Canadian Federation of Students National Executive Representative Gayle McFadden.
“At the time, we had raised our concerns over the consultation process, citing its short timeline as evidence that the government was not overly concerned with the voice of students in this process,” says McFadden.
In a public statement, the Canadian Federation of Students, or CFS, claimed that while gaining more time to exert pressure on government is a small and important victory, students will continue to see tuition fees rise, with professional and international students paying unregulated fees.
“The government did not have to rollover the current framework to give more time for consultation, as they could have decided to pause fee increases and funding cuts for two years while engaging in new consultations. There is still time and opportunity for our movement to continue to
build momentum and advance our goals,” read the statement, signed by McFadden and CFS Chairperson Rajean Hoilett.
“An extension does not mean we are pausing our engagement on this important issue. We’ve heard loud and clear from students and from student groups that they wanted more consultation on the tuition framework,” responds Buchan-Terrell.
In a letter to partners in colleges and universities, the Ministry shared their first steps in strengthening the government’s role in post-secondary education through the implementation of new funding models, in the hope of ensuring that the system helps to support positive results for students through employment and graduation rates, she adds.
“The renewed university and college funding formulas will help institutions to highlight and support their own unique and high-quality education offerings,” says Buchan-Terrell.
The provincial government recently overhauled OSAP regulations. The free tuition plan, specifically targeted to improve accessibility for low-income families, will ensure students whose families earn less than $50,000 and are in financial need get enough grants to cover their tuition.
“[The government] will make post-secondary education more affordable for middle- and upper-income families by increasing their access to interest-free and low-cost loans,” she says.
“This, together with the government’s efforts to improve access to post-secondary, will help [us] build a system of strong, sustainable and differentiated institutions and support the development of the highly skilled workforce of tomorrow,” adds Buchan-Terrell.
With files from Kanchi Uttamchandani
