In light of a September report about tuition from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, it is worth talking about the overall issue of rising tuition. As students, I think we can all agree: paying tuition burns.
According to the report, based on the legal tuition cap and past increases, it projected tuition in Ontario will rise a total of 13 per cent over the next four years.
The report projects that by 2017-18, average tuition for domestic students will be $9,483 per year. While the report does not project the amount international students will have to pay, due to a lack of legal limitations on international tuition the increases will likely be even more severe.
This is unacceptable. It is even more unacceptable when looking at the history of tuition hikes here in Canada and Ontario.
According to Statistics Canada, in the early 1990s, average undergraduate tuition fees in Canada were approximately $1,464 or $2,159 when accounting for inflation. In 2013, it reported the national average fee as $5,581. Clearly, tuition is rising.
Naturally, tuition is not equal across Canada. According to a 2012-13 Statistics Canada study, the average university tuition in Newfoundland and Labrador was $2,549. In contrast, Ontario students are paying on average $7,180, which is almost triple that figure.
So why has tuition risen so rapidly in Canada and Ontario?
It all started in the mid-1990s when the federal government, and soon followed by our provincial government, decided that they needed to cut billions of dollars from education funding, according to the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS).
As a consequence, colleges and universities in Canada and Ontario have been forced to make up that gap in government funding by downsizing and offloading the costs onto students.
The CFS reports that in 1991, government funding accounted for over 79 per cent of revenue for post-secondary institutions in Canada. As of 2011, that number is now 55 per cent. The rest comes from business partnerships, donations and, ultimately, high tuition rates.
Tuition is projected to rise 13 per cent over the next four years, tuition is significantly more expensive than 20 years ago, and our tuition costs are quite high when compared to other advanced Western nations.
But things don’t have to be this way. Other provinces have had major successes.
Quebec had active student protests and strikes which successfully pressured their provincial government for a tuition freeze. It still has one of the lowest tuition costs in Canada—next to only Newfoundland and Labrador—which is itself a success story.
Due to successful lobbying by the CFS, students have kept in place a tuition freeze since 1999. If Newfoundland and Labrador can keep their tuition less than $3,000 a year there is still hope for students.
We as students need to look at these success stories as causes of inspiration and optimism. We need to challenge the often-heard cynical narrative that tuition hikes are “inevitable and unstoppable.” They are not inevitable. Students have proven that with a bit of resolve, they can acchieve their goals.
We are a diverse bunch from a variety of backgrounds and locations but we all face the burn of high tuition. Now is as good as any time to come together, to unite, and fight for affordable education here in Ontario and at Carleton.
