Is Ontario's recent tuition fee subsidy a good idea?
At around $6,500 a year, Ontario has the highest average university tuition in the country. However, it looks like the Liberal government is going to make good on its promise to do something about that.
University students can save as much as $800 per term if their parents' annual income is $160,000 or less although those enrolled in college-level certificate or diploma programs will see only about half ($365) that.
This new grant is based on the average undergraduate arts and science university and college tuition in Ontario -- which translates to roughly a 30-per-cent reduction for about 310,000 Ontario college and university students.
Now for the good news ... The government has integrated the grant application process into the current Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), meaning that students who're eligible will be receiving their money without having to apply or submit any new information.
Long term though, organizations like the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives argue that high tuition fees are disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income families, a regressive policy that's making it harder for young people to afford a decent education. Here's an interesting 'then and now' comparison.
Quit complaining, says columnist Randall Denley, who describes the latest tuition cut as "like winning the lottery" and says students should be grateful that "they just managed to squeeze into the last car on the irrational-spending train."
Despite this temporary subsidy, are tuition fees still too high? Or should students be expected to shoulder escalating costs given a massive provincial deficit?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: DrVex007 | Jan 10, 2022 12:22:20 AM
Instead of giving rebates for tuition fees, maybe creating better jobs for those students would make better sense. That way the Gov't would ALSO benefit from it.
Posted by: Jake | Jan 10, 2022 11:55:31 AM
The government should not be creating jobs, they should be creating an environment that allows companies to create jobs.
Tuition is expensive, but the student is the only person that directly benefits from going to school. Thus they should pay the cost (like I had to). More bursaries can be made available to those that show extreme potential but don't have the means to go, but the salary bar of $160,000 is way too high. The general public shouldn't have to help pay for schooling for the kids of people that make that much money. Assuming two incomes, that's almost twice the national average salary for each worker.
Posted by: David | Jan 10, 2022 12:06:47 PM
This grant only applies to students who are attending university that have graduated high school 2008 or later.. doesn't apply to those of us still hard at work who graduated in 2007 or earlier! Thanks, McSquinty!