The government of Nova Scotia has declared the province “Canada’s University Capital” in a new ad campaign that is drawing the ire of students complaining about the province’s high tuition fees.
“We are sending a strong message to students across Canada: Nova Scotia is the destination for education in this country,” said Nova Scotia’s transport minister, Bill Estabrooks, on behalf of Premier Darrell Dexter, at the campaign’s launch Jan. 11.
A variety of student groups from across the province have spoken out against the campaign, saying the government needs to focus on lowering the cost of education before promoting the province’s institutions across the country.
Nova Scotia “is home to the [most] degree-granting institutions per capita in Canada,” said Stacey Jones-Oxner, an advisor with Nova Scotia Come to Life, an organization that aims to inform the rest of Canada and the world about the opportunities the province offers.
Jones-Oxner said the benefits to studying in Nova Scotia include the variety of educational settings available, as well as an excellent student-teacher ratio.
The campaign has stated that as many as 56,000 jobs are expected to be created in the province within the next five years.
“There is going to be a need for educated people in Nova Scotia,” Jones-Oxner said.
David Etherington, president of the University of King’s College student union in Halifax, said he thinks the high cost of tuition fees in the province is the main issue the government needs to focus on.
“I think a big concern that we have with the rebranding is that it doesn’t really deal with the issue of why there’s been a drop in enrolment in Nova Scotia, and that has to do with high tuition fees in comparison to the rest of the country,” he said.
Jake Byrne, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) representative for Nova Scotia, said he agrees the government’s focus is misplaced.
“We appreciate that attention is being put on the quality of Nova Scotia’s education system, but what we’d rather see from the government rather than a rebranding campaign, is more investment in it,” he said.
As of the 2009-10 academic year, Nova Scotia students are paying an average $5,696 a year, compared to the national average of $4,917. However, this cost is down 3.1 per cent from last year, and Jones-Oxner said the province hopes to be on par with the national average next year.
The campaign plans to target the parents of prospective students in Ontario, specifically the Ottawa and Toronto markets.
Students in Ontario are paying the highest tuition fees on average in Canada: $5,951 during the 2009-10 academic year.
Etherington said he is concerned the focus on out-of-province recruiting detracts from efforts to keep students in Nova Scotia.
“We don’t really put a lot of money into recruiting locally,” he said. “We’re seeing students from Nova Scotia being recruited out of the province because it’s cheaper to go to school in places like Quebec and especially Newfoundland.”
Byrne also said losing so many students to other maritime provinces harms Nova Scotia.
“I think my best advice to the government is ‘if you want to attract students from out of province, make education here more affordable.’”