Students Protest Ballooning Student Debt And Tuition Fees
Ontario tuition fees are higher than in any other province, even with the government's new grant in place. The grant will not be accessible to most students in college and university, and takes funding from existing grant programs. Students understand that this grant does not apply to most students and does nothing to prevent tuition fees from increasing.
"Student debt and tuition fees are ballooning out of control, so students are taking action to change the dire situation in Ontario" said Elizabeth Kessler, VP University Affairs of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa. “The government has a responsibility to ensure affordable, high quality education for everyone”.
Students will be marching to parliament hill on February 1st to demand better access to education through tuition fee reductions.
Students launch 12 days of student action for accessible education
OTTAWA, Dec. 1, 2011 /CNW/ - In the Holiday spirit, students across the country are organising the 12 days of student actions to reduce tuition fees, drop student debt and increase funding to post-secondary education.
"Between now and the holiday break, students will be under the stress of exams and paying for next-semester tuition fees," said Roxanne Dubois, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students "To battle the stress of the season, students are organising the 12 Days of Student Action that will highlight student demands for progressive changes to Canada's post-secondary education system."
Starting December 1, students in different regions of the country will be holding public events to build support for investments and increased access to post-secondary education.
The 12 Days of Student Action are part of Education is a Right, a national campaign to call on the federal government to take responsibility for the state of education in Canada and to re-establish an affordable and well-funded system of post-secondary education. These actions are being organised with an eye to February 1 when students in Canada will be holding a national student day of action.
"Students collectively owe more than $15 billion in student debt to their government and this is limiting their ability to persist in their education and to meaningfully participate in the economy," added Roxanne Dubois, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "Students are demanding action from provincial governments and the federal government to implement combination of reduced fees, increased funding, and more grants."
The Canadian Federation of Students is Canada's largest student organisation, uniting more than one-half million students in all ten provinces. The Canadian Federation of Students and its predecessor organisations have represented students in Canada since 1927.
About the Campaign
The fight for public education in Canada is part of a global effort to maintain education as a basic right for all. Around the world, governments are tabling “austerity” budgets containing massive cuts to post-secondary education and other public services.
In country after country, ordinary people are refusing to allow a crisis caused by the deregulation of international markets and corporate greed to threaten the public good. In many cases, students are the ones leading this struggle.
The Education is a Right campaign is the manifestation of students’ collective vision for a well-funded, high-quality, public post-secondary education system that builds a fair, and equitable society.
As part of the Education is a Right campaign students have been meeting with Members of Parliament and Senators, collecting petitions, organising provincial campaigns and will now take to the streets on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 in a national student day of action.
