Saskatchewan students face highest tuition hikes in Canada

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SASKATOON – Saskatchewan has the highest tuition increases in the country, says a new Statistics Canada report.

The study, published Thursday, found the average undergraduate tuition fees in the province increased by roughly $250 over last year, up to $6,659 or a four per cent increase.

“As a student, it’s always hard to pay for tuition, because it’s just gone up so much,” said Gur Josh, a second-year student at the University of Saskatchewan.

“They should actually reduce it. In some countries, it’s even free to go to school and get a higher education.”

According to Stats Can, graduate students saw an even bigger jump – their fees rose by 5.2 per cent.

READ MORE: Think tank study says Saskatchewan tuition rates are on the rise

University of Saskatchewan professor Leonard Findlay said the tuition hikes have placed too much pressure on students.

“Some of them are working two jobs or three jobs,” said Findlay.

“That is to say, they used to fall asleep in class out of boredom, now they do it out of exhaustion. So they really are over-extended.”

The professor said cutbacks have also led many universities to decrease their services.

“The students are paying more, they’re getting less in terms of the range of classes available to them,” Findlay said.

U of S professor Ken Coates said the tuition hikes are offset by government and university funding.

“The reality is the net cost of students going to university in Canada is pretty close to zero, 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,” said Coates.

The province offers partial tuition refunds in an attempt to retain graduates. Since 2008, approximately $130 million in rebates has been provided to over 50,000 students who stay in the province, according to the Government of Saskatchewan.