Free Tuition?

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Tuition is major concern among current students in BC. As tuition prices steadily rise across Canada, students are looking at higher levels of debt. This burden of debt discourages potential students from seeking a higher level of education. High tuition costs also dissuade people with low incomes to enroll in post-secondary education. Free tuition is good because it allows people from all financial backgrounds and abilities to access further education and develop skills which help to close the gap between the have and the have-nots; it frees the student of debt which hinders past students from reaching future milestones in life.

Tuition prices have been rising steadily including a 2.0% increase in BC over the last academic year. Furthermore, nationally,  additional costs such us compulsory fees for undergraduates are “on average, $921 in 2018/2019, up 4.2% from the previous year”. This growth in tuition fees has been consistent for the last nine years, and for many families these costs and inevitable debt are a death sentence. It discourages low income families from pursuing education and furthermore, it contributes to the divide between the wealthy or affluent, and those struggling.

The interest rates charged to students lays another burden that hinders their ability to pursue things such as buying a house or starting a family. In 2018, it was projected that the revenue made off of student loans was 862.6 million. An average college or university student is expected to take approximately nine to fifteen years to pay off student loans. This is typically the period in which they would be looking to start a family and buy a house but the burden of debt stops them from doing so.

From recent statistics it is clear to see how rising tuition costs, interest rates, and large amounts of debt are negatively affecting potential, current, and past students. These factors contribute to the divide between the wealthy and educated, and the poor and uneducated. Free tuition would help to close this gap and raise the overall education level in Canada. Moreover, free tuition would dismiss many students from the worry of debt and interest charges to pursue further goals and aspirations. The BCFS has a campaign to fight interest rates on student loans, you can sign their petition here.




Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 12, 2019 at 10:21 AM

    You are so right about how paid tuition acts as a gatekeeper that often prevents the poor from receiving a proper education. What with scholarships being so competitive (and often not even covering the full cost of tuition) it can be hard for even very bright students to get into post education for free. If you fall even the slightest bit behind, regardless of if it's by your fault or not, you lose your chance at a scholarship. It also makes it difficult for older individuals who had been out of high school for years. If you're a thirty year old trying to get into college to better yourself, you can't apply to scholarships because you aren't in high school. If you aren't able to save up the money needed for tuition, which can be hard if you're an adult who needs to pay for bills, there really is nothing you can do.

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