The Gallant government has taken another step in providing funding to a controversial program which grants free tuition to some students who attend public post secondary universities and colleges.
The Tuition Access Bursary allows for free tuition for families earning less than $60,000 per year. Legislation was introduced in the legislature to eliminate education and tuition tax credits to help pay for the free tuition program.
READ MORE: New Brunswick government announces free tuition for low income students
The $60,000 hard cutoff is what some, including student representatives, are calling unfair especially to higher middle income families.
“Often you have the scenario of not being able to afford university in the sense that your parents can’t help you pay for it,” said Jordan Tracey, Student Representative Council president of the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. “But you’re still, you’re kind of in that rock and a hard place situation where you also can’t get government funding because you make too much as a family.”
The idea of a sliding scale, which would allow for increased eligibility, is being promoted.
“We don’t want to disenfranchise those students,” said Kyle Rogers, a UNB student. “We want to be able to open up accessibility to as many students in the province because that in the end is the most important factor.”
“I think the department really needs to take a close look at that aspect of it,” added Robert MacKinnon, vice-president of UNB Saint John.
The minister in charge says he has no regrets, pointing out 36 per cent of students applying for student aid this year qualified for free tuition.
READ MORE: Credit check requirement could cost older, low-income students NB Tuition Access Bursary
Post Secondary Education Minister Donald Arseneault said a sliding scale would have slowed things down.
“If we had adopted a sliding scale only we would only have been able to offer free tuition next fall in 2017,” he said. “We wanted to make sure those investments are touching New Brunswickers now.”
Arseneault said there are still programs available to help people attend a post secondary school.
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