Bursary promises unfulfilled

P.E.I. students tell Opposition they are not getting all the money promised

Some P.E.I. students who completed volunteer hours to help finance their post-secondary education through a provincial bursary program say they aren’t receiving what they were promised.

However, P.E.I.’s Advanced Learning Minister Sonny Gallant said it was an error that would be rectified.

Up until July 2017, students were eligible to earn $500 in tuition credits in exchange for 100 hours of volunteer work. Based on a recommendation from the province’s own Youth Futures Council, the Community Service Bursary was increased to allow students to work 150 hours and earn up to $750 in tuition credits. The program was also expanded to allow Grade 10 students to participate.

“I find the whole situation really disheartening,” said Fiona Steele who is a first-year student at St. Thomas University, in a news release issued by the Opposition.

Steele, who is from Sherbrooke, P.E.I., says she put in volunteer hours at Three Oaks High School, earning the maximum amount of $750 but received $500 when the Community Services Bursary was eventually processed. “I completed my volunteer hours in good faith, and not only did the cheque come three months late, but it is not the amount I was told it would be,” she said in the release. “It makes it hard to plan my year when tuition and student fees are due, and if I don’t get the credits I was promised, it means I have to work extra shifts now to make up for it.”

The Opposition notes that the program was launched in 2007 by the Pat Binns government and was expanded in the last year on the advice of the current government’s Youth Futures Council. Kensington-Malpeque MLA Matthew MacKay says he’s heard from concerned students who were expecting the full amount and then only received part of it.

“These students make plans months in advance to finance their education and it’s unfair for them to experience this setback now,” said MacKay. “This program is a win-win for students and community groups so let’s make sure this valuable partnership works like it’s supposed to for the benefit of all,” said Opposition Leader James Aylward.

Gallant responded to the concerns on Facebook saying his Workforce and Advanced Learning Department had become aware of the concerns and is working to resolve the issue. The department said it was an “administrative error” affecting about 30 students and the funds will be paid out in full.

“Students will receive their money in the coming weeks,” Gallant said in his Facebook post.