There was a great article that I read on Thursday, January 26, 2012, entitled “Under Pressure: The impact of rising tuition fees on Ontario families”. This article was based on a report that the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives did on rising tuition fees in Ontario. The article talked about how Ontario undergraduate students have witnessed a 244% real tuition fee increase between 1990 and 2011. The article also talked about how the increase in tuition fees has negatively impacted families and students, specifically those who come from low-income families. The report stated that families in Ontario need to save the equivalent of 673 days of income (after taxes) to afford the cost of an undergraduate degree, in comparison to 270 days of income 21 years ago.
The article and the report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives were really fascinating and eye-opening. The challenges that low-income families and students face in order to get a post-secondary education is disheartening. Post-secondary education is the ticket out of poverty, and this report is telling us that attaining that degree is becoming more difficult here in the province of Ontario.
For the full article and report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, follow this link.