Students outline vision for education ahead of federal budget

OTTAWA, March 15, 2012 /CNW/ - Students are bringing forward their budget priorities in this year's Alternative Federal Budget, "A budget For The Rest Of Us". Students' recommendations for increasing access to post-secondary education are included in the document released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

"Public education can help promote a better quality of life for all Canadians if funded adequately," said Roxanne Dubois, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "Instead of cutting important programs such as the Service Canada Centre for Youth, the federal government should be increasing funding to help youth and students get a head start on life."

The Alternative Federal Budget shows that a number of services that work towards reducing inequality among Canadians are possible given the current federal government's budget framework. For post-secondary education, students are recommending four concrete budget steps to ensure students and their families are not being left out:

1. Create a new dedicated cash transfer aimed at reducing tuition fees
2. Increase the value and number of up-front grants to improve access to post-secondary education
3. Remove the funding cap on the Post-Secondary Student Support Program to meet the needs of all First Nations students
4. Increase federal granting agencies' base budgets and increase the number of Canada Graduate Scholarships to maintain independent, public research

"Funding post-secondary education from public sources is the only way to reverse the trend of increasing tuition fees that will continue to block thousands of students from pursuing their education," added Dubois. " We urge the federal government to recognize the difficult situation faced by Canadian youth and address it in its upcoming budget."

The Alternative Federal Budget's chapter on post-secondary education and costing details can be found here. In addition, the many other chapters of the CCPA's Alternative Federal Budget, including health, housing, immigration, security and the environment can be found here.

The Canadian Federation of Students is Canada's largest student organisation, uniting more that one-half million students in all ten provinces. The Federation and its predecessor organisations have represented students in Canada since 1927.

Roxanne Dubois, National Chairperson, 613-232-7394, [email protected]