Watch above: new report says students need to dig deep for university education
SASKATOON – Canadian university tuition rates will rise by roughly 16 per cent in Saskatchewan over the next four years, according to an Ottawa-based left-leaning think tank.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said undergrad tuition rates will rise by almost 13 per cent across the country by 2017-18. The study looks at tuition and fee trends since 1993 and then projects what students will pay in each province.
READ MORE: Stock up on ramen noodle: Cost of university to rise 13% over 4 years
“Fees continue to increase faster than the rate of inflation and they likely will for the next four years,” said David Macdonald, one of the authors of the study in Ottawa.
The report says that Ontario has the highest fees in Canada, however it projects that in four years, Saskatchewan will be the least affordable province to attend university.
Not everyone agrees with the assessment made by the think tank.
Ken Coates, a University of Saskatchewan professor, said the bigger picture isn’t as bleak as many often think.
“If you add up all the scholarships, all the bursaries, the subsidized student loans and a bunch of other things that are part of the overall funding piece, the net cost of going to university is close to zero,” said Coates, who teaches in the graduate school of public policy at U of S.
“Very few students understand that and very few students understand the tax benefits that accrual to their parents,” he added.
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