Government to create 60,000 new post-secondary spaces
WATERLOO, Ont. (CUP) —
Ontario will create 60,000 new
spaces for post-secondary students
by 2015-16, starting with 15,000
spaces next fall, according to the
province's new budget.
However, some groups are questioning whether this initiative is enough to aid post-secondary students in the most expensive market in Canada.
"We're going to see a cumulative of $309 million invested within three years," Meaghan Coker, president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, said. "With the final end goal after five years of 60,000 more students within the system, 40,000 of that 60,000 will be university students."
Coker added that this initiative would help the Ontario government attain its target of 70 per cent post-secondary education attainment in the province.
"The system should be able to accommodate more and we should make sure we are preparing for that demand and meeting that extended target is going to be incredibly important," she added.
With a current deficit projected at nearly $17 billion, Coker said it was important to note that postsecondary education initiatives had not been cut, which was the case for many other areas of the government, as finance minister Dwight Duncan ensured both education and health care would be safe from any cost cutting.
Despite this, some still remain unhappy with the funding provided by the government, including Caitlin Smith, the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario representative from Ryerson University, who said the budget was "disappointing."
"There's no talk about lowing tuition fees, no talk about the burden of student debt in the province and there's no upfront per-student funding investment in post-secondary education," said Smith of the budget, adding that the high cost of Ontario tuition is going to be a burden for many students wishing to attain a higher education.
"We would have liked to have seen a stronger commitment in terms of more per-student funding from the province."
Coker echoed the lack of depth in the provincial budget, though she mentioned an announcement that has been promised by the Ontario government that will include post-secondary education targets.
"We're hoping for (the Ontario government) to tackle issues of quality, specifically quality within the learning environment, quality within our classrooms (and) how we're going to make sure that students are getting the experience they hope to get," Coker said.
The government also announced that this new funding will be contingent upon Ontario colleges and universities renegotiating their multi-year accountability agreements with the government for the first time since 2006.
"We still have hope for 2011 for initiatives that we hope the government can take leadership in," concluded Coker.
However, some groups are questioning whether this initiative is enough to aid post-secondary students in the most expensive market in Canada.
"We're going to see a cumulative of $309 million invested within three years," Meaghan Coker, president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, said. "With the final end goal after five years of 60,000 more students within the system, 40,000 of that 60,000 will be university students."
Coker added that this initiative would help the Ontario government attain its target of 70 per cent post-secondary education attainment in the province.
"The system should be able to accommodate more and we should make sure we are preparing for that demand and meeting that extended target is going to be incredibly important," she added.
With a current deficit projected at nearly $17 billion, Coker said it was important to note that postsecondary education initiatives had not been cut, which was the case for many other areas of the government, as finance minister Dwight Duncan ensured both education and health care would be safe from any cost cutting.
Despite this, some still remain unhappy with the funding provided by the government, including Caitlin Smith, the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario representative from Ryerson University, who said the budget was "disappointing."
"There's no talk about lowing tuition fees, no talk about the burden of student debt in the province and there's no upfront per-student funding investment in post-secondary education," said Smith of the budget, adding that the high cost of Ontario tuition is going to be a burden for many students wishing to attain a higher education.
"We would have liked to have seen a stronger commitment in terms of more per-student funding from the province."
Coker echoed the lack of depth in the provincial budget, though she mentioned an announcement that has been promised by the Ontario government that will include post-secondary education targets.
"We're hoping for (the Ontario government) to tackle issues of quality, specifically quality within the learning environment, quality within our classrooms (and) how we're going to make sure that students are getting the experience they hope to get," Coker said.
The government also announced that this new funding will be contingent upon Ontario colleges and universities renegotiating their multi-year accountability agreements with the government for the first time since 2006.
"We still have hope for 2011 for initiatives that we hope the government can take leadership in," concluded Coker.
