By Katie Stobbart (Contributor) – Email
Date Posted: September 30, 2011
Print Edition: September 28, 2011
According to Statistics Canada, there was an increase of 4.3 per cent in tuition and related fees for the average Canadian student. In British Columbia, we’re locked in at a two per cent tuition increase every year, as the Ministry of Advanced Education proudly claims. While that’s half of the national average, this does not feel like an accomplishment so much as it is a reminder that things could be worse.
When our car spluttered and died a few months ago, it could have been worse. It could have exploded, or careened into a fence. It didn’t, but it still had to be fixed or towed away. The point is, the car sat in the driveway for a long time while we tried to decide whether we could afford to fix it, or whether we could afford to lose it.
The same thing is happening to tuition. It’s sitting in the driveway of the provincial government, while they try to decide whether to fix it. Limiting increases to two per cent is not enough. This is seen as a progressive move, but tuition fees are still increasing, and financially strapped students are taking on more and more financial debt, or choosing not to pursue a higher education for financial reasons. The longer we wait, the more students we lose.
In 1966, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was adopted by the United Nations, to come into effect January 1976. Article 13 of the document outlines goals for educational development and accessibility. While primary and secondary education has been made freely accessible, we are ignoring the next step: section C says that “higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education.” Canada has had almost 36 years to make post-secondary education free, and raising tuition fees each year is counter-productive to that goal.
In BC, we have the fourth lowest average tuition at $4,852. If students did not need food, shelter, utilities, or textbooks, this would probably sound like a manageable figure. However, those costs are also inflating annually. Our Quebecois counterparts are paying almost half of our tuition fees after a 4.5 per cent increase from last year. “Fourth lowest” no longer seems like something to brag about.
The dilemma is that no one, except students, seems able to justify free tuition. Why should students get a better deal than everyone else? What benefit does free tuition provide for the society, for non-students? Many students take their high-quality, government-subsidized education to higher-paying countries upon graduation, and take the investment of our tax dollars with them.
In the interest of the “progressive introduction of free education,” I would propose the following. Make post-secondary education conditionally free. Entertain this hypothetical scenario: upon entering university, students may choose to commit to the completion of a degree. They do not have to pay a fee for tuition, as it is conditionally paid by our tax dollars.
Upon completion of the degree, the student has three options. (1) Choose to commit to a ten-year term of working in Canada in their field of expertise, and consider their education paid for; (2) commit to a five-year term of working in Canada, and repay half of their total educational costs or; (3) work outside of Canada, and repay their educational costs in full. The repayment of those costs could follow a similar model as student loans, in instalments.
Thus, the society pays for the education of students, and those students return the favour by contributing economically to the country that paid for their education. Educated people are an investment into the future of our society – if we are to benefit from the skills of doctors, lawyers, and graduates from other disciplines, Canada must first enable students financially.
This is only one suggestion. However, we need to begin looking at our options and working together toward free education. Think outside the box. Tuition fees are increasing, in BC and in all of Canada. While it could be worse, it could also be a lot better – university is not yet truly accessible. We have to fix it, because we cannot afford to lose it.
