The Death of Affordable Education

Mar 28, 2011 by Sentinel

By Sarah-Jane Liszt

More than ever before, students are faced with numerous barriers to their education, an education that should be affordable and accessible. Education is one of the most important investments that British Columbians can make in the midst of these difficult economic times. In fact, a degree today is equivalent to what a high school diploma would have been 100 years ago and approximately 70% of new jobs require a degree. As we look back over the past 10 years, there has been a definite increase in tuition fees and a decrease in real per student funding from the Government each year, limiting the number of people who can actually afford to obtain a degree. If tuition fees had increased with inflation since 2000/2001, students would be paying close to half of what they are paying now.

According to the Millennium Scholarship Foundation’s book, The Price of Knowledge:

Tuition increased substantially and quickly in British Columbia during the early part of this decade. A student who began a four-year university program in 2001-02, when tuition fees were frozen in B.C., would have wound up paying 88 percent more in his or her last year of studies. During the same time, inflation increased by only seven percent. College tuition in B.C. more than doubled between 2000-01 and 2006-07, while inflation increased by only 14 percent.

I would like to discuss four of the realities that students face as a result of the trend to increase tuition fees year after year. The first is that many students have no choice but to work as well as attend school. Approximately 50% of full-time students work and most of them work more than 20 hours a week. Research shows that 75% of students believe that working while attending school has a negative impact on their academic performance. Students have to pay more to attend school, but are not receiving the same quality of education for which they are paying, in part because they are forced to devote the time and energy needed to succeed on their work, rather than on their school. The dream of the past, when students could pay for their education with a summer job, is also over. Student unemployment remains high every summer and the jobs that students are able to get tend to be low paying. The minimum wage in BC, which used to be the highest in the country in 1997, is now the lowest in the country at only $8.00 an hour. There has been no increase to our minimum wage since 2000. Also, the value of a summer job has changed dramatically. When former Premier Campbell attended school, it would have taken him 8 days of work at the minimum wage to afford his tuition. Today, it would take him 90 days.

The second reality is that student debt is skyrocketing along with the increase in tuition fees. Many students must take out a student loan to pay for their education; however, after graduation they will have to pay back their loans over a period of up to 14 years, losing money on interest at the same time. Upon completion of a 4-year degree, the average student debt now exceeds $27,000 and the average student will pay more than $7,000 in interest on their loans. To provide a broader picture, last January, National Student Debt reached $15 billion; however, actual student debt is significantly higher, because this number does not take into account provincial and personal loans, or other forms of debt such as lines of credit or credit card debt. Sadly, these loans, while financially crippling, are often not enough to support the many students struggling to obtain an education. One of the problems with this system is that the BC Liberal Government eliminated the BC Student Grant Program and has failed to reinstate it since 2003. Consequently, BC now ranks last in Canada with respect to student assistance expenditures on non-repayable aid, forcing students to rely on loans instead, acquiring huge levels of interest on their debt. As students graduate, they enter the work force with mortgage size debt and finding that their plans must often be put on hold in order to repay it. Large debts lead many people not to pursue a post-secondary education at all due to debt aversion. Debt and lack of finance are real hurdles for our students. Half of surveyed 18-20 year olds reported facing barriers to reaching their post secondary educational goals and about 2/3 of those cited financial barriers. It seems as if we are creating a system that treats post secondary education as a privilege, of which only those who can afford it can access it, rather than the right that it is!

The cost of living is yet another reality that students face. Making ends meet is becoming increasingly difficult as a result of the lack of quality public transit, affordable housing, and affordable text books, as well as high daycare fees and food costs. More parents than ever are entering into post secondary education and must rely on daycares, which are too expensive and usually have unreasonably long waiting lists. The Selkirk College Students’ Union has seen a significant increase in the use of our food banks at all of the campuses in Castlegar and Nelson, and this year we created another food bank at our Nakusp campus. Our shelves are being depleted faster than ever before, displaying the need of students here at Selkirk College for essential supplies such as food. The increase in the use of the food bank is from every demographic of students: male, female, parent, and international student. But this is only a band-aid solution to the barriers that are limiting the general population’s access to an education. Nobody should have to sacrifice their health or their ability to feed themselves in order to obtain an education. These costs are out of our control; however, the Board of Governors has the ability to change the cost of tuition fees in favour of students. Unfortunately, the Board has voted in favour of increasing tuition fees every year, including this year.

Finally, I would like to mention the shift that our education system has taken towards privatization. In 1978, over 85% of university operating revenue came from government funding while the rest was made up of tuition and other fees. In 2008, just over 50% came from government funding while students and their families were forced to bear an even greater burden as a result of tuition fees. Rather than relying on public funding to provide us with an affordable education, colleges and universities across the country are reaching into students’ pockets, many of whom are from middle or low-income families, for the funds needed to operate our schools. Post secondary education is becoming a privilege for the wealthy. When the Board votes to increase tuition fees, this not only adds to the financial weight placed on students, but also sends a message to both the provincial and federal governments that Selkirk College intends to maximize the amount of funding that can be derived from its students.

But students have reached their limit. The college needs to take the stance that it no longer chooses to pay for the costs of college operations by placing the greatest financial burden on those least able to pay it. This is emphasized by the fact that this year the BC Government will collect more money from tuition fees than from corporate income tax. Our system is in great need of repair and it is our responsibility to ensure that the institution works together with its students to let the government know that we are not willing to accommodate the injustice that this system has brought to us. Selkirk College, as mentioned in its own budget development framework, is “a student-centered institution. Our decisions around cost reductions will also be student centered. In considering the importance of a service, we will first ask how directly it impacts our learners.” One of the most significant impacts upon a students’ ability to learn today is the cost of tuition fees and this needs to change. To find more information on what you can do to show solidarity with your fellow students, come by the Students’ Union office to sign our two petitions, Education Shouldn’t be a Debt Sentence and Education is a Right, and check out the following websites:

debtsentence.ca
educationisaright.ca