By SooToday.com Staff
SooToday.com
Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Sault MP Tony Martin and NDP Leader Jack Layton (photo) attended today's Day of Action on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Students held rallies across Canada calling for more affordable postsecondary education.

A busload of 44 Algoma University students travelled to a Queen's Park rally in Toronto.

Meanwhile, Sault College's student government weighed in on tuition and other matters by issuing the news release below.

*************************
Sault College SAC says - 'There’s more to it than just tuition'

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario - In response to the upcoming “Day of Action” Sault SAC (Student Administrative Council) is saying the focus should be on more than just tuition.

“If you ask any student if they want to pay less for tuition, of course they will say yes. It’s a loaded question that has only one appropriate answer for someone paying it,” says Graham Vooren SAC president. “Sure everyone would like to pay less, but you have to look at the big picture, not just tuition.”

“We are not in favour of having students sleep out in the freezing cold or skip the classes that they pay the high tuition for," says Stefan Shynkorenko, SAC's vice president of communications. "Instead we are encouraging students to get involved in the political process and understand that if they have a problem with the current tuition fee policy the time for action is October 4, 2007, at the polls.”

Here is the reality:

- Lower tuition does not ensure accessibility or quality. Quebec, which has had a freeze in place for 13 years, has not seen any improvement on either front. Quebec actually has the lowest tuition fees in Canada and only an enrolment rate of 20 per cent, compared to Ontario at 26 per cent and Nova Scotia, which has the highest tuition, at 33 per cent.

- The Ontario government spends 5 per cent less in per student operating grants today than in 1990 (1990 - $5,800; 2005 - $5,493). The national average spent is significantly higher at over $8,000/full-time student.

- Within Ontario, college students receive 38.3 per cent less than university students and 47 per cent less than high school students in per student funding.

- The Ontario Government did, in fact, keep its promise. The current government promised to keep the freeze in place for two years while former Premier Bob Rae reviewed postsecondary education, then create a long-term tuition framework.

Now that the framework has been set, it is up to the government to ensure that the appropriate level of financial aid is available.

SAC does realize the debt that students in Ontario have seen is an issue and should be taken seriously.

That’s why SAC advocates for more assistance in the form of grants not loans.

The fact is the vast majority of Ontario students are not even eligible for the non repayable student grants.

As only first- and second-year students are eligible for up to $3,000 or 50 per cent of tuition (whichever is lower), students paying for high-fee programs or programs with prerequisites of more than two years of postsecondary education will not be eligible for these grants even though they will be accruing more debt.

Furthermore, the federal government should be coming to the provinces with dedicated transfers for postsecondary education.

The previous federal government abolished postsecondary education transfer payments when they lumped them into the social transfer cutting $4.6 billion.

The federal government should be providing a minimum of $4 billion annually to the provinces dedicated to postsecondary education and increase it annually according to inflation and demographic growth.

“Simply arguing for a reduction in tuition is not enough, Staed Vooren. "It is the belief of SAC that no student should be denied postsecondary education for financial reasons. The Ontario government made a significant contribution to postsecondary education with its ‘reaching higher’ plan, but that plan is just a start and cannot make up for the chronic under funding the system and student financial aid have received in the past.

“Although students would like to see the freeze back in place, there is no evidence that such a move would be effective in increasing accessibility or quality. However, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that financial aid reflects the true cost of postsecondary education and that colleges receive, and are accountable for, funding that ensures quality.”

The Student Administrative Council is the proud student government that represents approximately 1,900 full-time Sault College students and is provincially represented by the College Student Alliance.

For further information, please visit our web site.

*************************