CASTLEGAR - BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko will join Selkirk College students’ on Thursday, February 21st from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM at their Castlegar Campus, in their campaign for a publicly-administered granting system to support students through post-secondary education.
“Students need relief from shouldering record-high student debt,” said Atamanenko. “I’m adding my support to their day of action on Tuesday.”
“I believe students should have priority in post-secondary education policy,” said Atamanenko, as he outlined four areas of action needed:
1. Lower tuition, more faculty and better resources through restored core federal funding.
2. Slash student debt by 25% through a federal, needs-based grant system for all Canada student loans in every year of study.
3. Make the student loan system better for students, including lower interest rates, an independent ombudsperson, and better relief programs.
4. Guarantee the future of public post-secondary education with the NDP’s Canada Post-Secondary Education Act.
The Selkirk College students’ petition action on Thursday is part of a nation-wide campaign.
Background : Quick Facts and Figures on postsecondary education, January 2008
• Post-secondary education is essential to succeed in the new economy: 70% of new jobs over the next decade are expected to require post-secondary qualifications
• Student fees (tuition + ancillary) are unaffordable: average undergraduate student fees crossed $5,000 last year, and continued to climb to $5,187 in 2007/08 (3.7% increase, well above inflation) – see provincial breakdown below
• Youth from families with an annual income of more than $75,000 are almost twice as likely to attend university as those who come from families earning less than $25,000
• There is a student debt crisis in Canada: average student debt is over $24,000
• The percentage of students requiring financial assistance has increased, from 45% in 1995 to 59% in 2006
• The federal student loan interest rate is double the federal government’s cost of borrowing. Ottawa plans to make almost $550 million in student loan interest in 2009-10.
• Underfunding threatens quality: federal core transfers for PSE, relative to the economy, are one-third what they were 25 years ago, and less than one-half what they were in 1993
• Student-to-faculty ratio is up 25% since 1993 (15.6 in 1993-94 to 19.6 in 2004–2005)