Last month, the B.C. NDP detailed their 2020 budget and unveiled the B.C. Access Grant, a new grant that aims to make life more affordable for post-secondary students in need. It will see the province invest $24 million over a three-year period to support more than 40,000 students across B.C., offering up to $4,000 per student.
The B.C. Access Grant is part of an extended effort by the provincial government to increase the affordability of B.C. schools, following last year’s elimination of interest on government-issued student loans, and represents the first time needs-based grants have been offered in the province since 2004. According to the budget, the grant will be available to low- and middle-income students in either full- or part-time undergraduate degree, diploma, and certificate programs beginning in September 2020.
The provincial government’s decision represents a big victory for several lobbying groups, including the Alliance of B.C. Students (ABCS), a provincial advocacy group that represents the student bodies of five B.C. universities, including UFV. The announcement comes after nearly seven years of lobbying from ABCS and other student organizations.
Gurvir Gill, vice president external of UFV’s Student Union Society and the chairman of ABCS, said ABCS was specifically formed to address the province’s lack of needs-based grants, something every other province in Canada already offers.
“We lobby MLAs and MPs and hope that they either give us letters of support to bring it up in caucus, or we can bring it up to the finance and budget committee,” he said. “From there, hopefully we see it in the budget, which we finally did in February.”
According to Gill, UFV has only recently become a member of ABCS, after students voted to join the organization at the April 2019 Annual General Meeting, but he feels the cost of admission was worth it.
“I would say it’s definitely bang for our buck,” he said. “I think we pay about $4,700 [annually], but to see $24 million being invested into B.C. grants, it really goes to show that we’re at the forefront of student decisions being made to the province. It opens a broad range of doors that our student union hasn’t been involved in.”
Gill acknowledged that UFV students’ financial needs may not quite be on par with the needs of students across B.C. given the school’s relatively low tuition costs, but said he feels the B.C. Access Grant will still benefit UFV students.
“There are a lot of factors that a needs-based grant can really support and alleviate, like housing costs. Abbotsford is bad, and our surrounding areas are only getting worse … and it really just emphasizes those things, pushing for needs-based grants. It’s allowing students to have a bit more flexibility and disposable income.”
Gill also said that despite the fact that ABCS’s initial goal of establishing needs-based grants for students has now been accomplished, the organization has other lobbying efforts that are still ongoing.
“Seven years ago, our students came around the table saying [grants] were their biggest issue, but nowadays there are still so many other barriers,” he said. “[The B.C. Access Grant] won’t roll out until September, and there’s always advocacy measures to emphasize more funding … to advocate for more.”
He also noted that it is always possible for the government to roll back the grants in the future, so lobbying groups like ABCS need to play an ongoing role in protecting them. “You never know who’s going to be in power. You never know who the opposition will be; you never know where their priorities are when it comes to education,” he said.
“We’re just trying to keep our elected provincial officials putting their money where their mouth is.”
