UPDATE: I’ve heard – yes, I’ve heard – that I badly under-estimated the size of the gathering at the VAG on Tuesday. Some said the crowd grew to a couple hundred people before it ended. That’s still smaller than what was expected, but I offer this mea culpa.
A call Tuesday for B.C. students to support their peers in Quebec attracted modest numbers in Vancouver, even as tens of thousands of people marched through downtown Montreal to mark the 100th day of a strike against tuition fee increases.
Scores of people showed up in the rain — but not as many as had “liked” the plan on Facebook. Organizers had hoped the Montreal uprising would spark conversations here about the cost of education and calls for an end to tuition fees.
B.C. students pay higher tuition fees than Quebecers attending post-secondary schools in their own province — an average of $4,852 compared to $2,519. Quebec fees are the lowest in the country, where average tuition at public post-secondary institutions is $5,366.
Tuition for an undergraduate arts student at the University of B.C. has quintupled over the past 30 years, rising from about $900 a year to approximately $4,600. At the same time, the minimum wage increased threefold, to $10.25 an hour this year from $3.65.
B.C. fees have been climbing steadily since 2002, when the newly elected Liberals killed a six-year freeze introduced by the previous NDP government. Tuition soared as post-secondary schools tried to make up lost revenue — the University of B.C. boosted undergraduate fees by an average of 22 per cent, while the hike at Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria was around 30 per cent.
Faced with anger from students and parents, the Liberals announced a cap in 2005 that now holds annual increases to two per cent. Nevertheless, universities are drawing a greater percentage of their revenues from student fees while the portion covered by government funding has been shrinking steadily.
In recent years, discussions in B.C. have focused on student loan reforms. Even the presidents of B.C.’s four research universities — UBC, SFU, the University of Victoria and the University of Northern B.C. — have called for improvements in financial assistance for post-secondary students to bring B.C. more into line with what’s offered in other provinces. In particular, they recommended a reduction in the student loan interest rate, which is the highest in the country.
The Advanced Education Ministry says B.C. students pay one-third of their education costs and are not charged interest on student loans until six months after they graduate. Furthermore, it noted there are interest relief programs for low-income students after they finish their studies.
A ministry survey in 2010 suggested that half of B.C. university graduates are in debt, and the median amount owing was $20,000. Of diploma and certificate students, 48 per cent had borrowed money to pay for their education and the median debt was $10,000.
The ministry says it’s in the midst of a two-part review – the first part looked for improvements and efficiencies in StudentAidBC and the second part will review policies.