Potential debt scares students

I would like to bring up how overpriced college/university tuition is, because let’s be honest, it’s pretty crazy. These fees put people into thousands of dollars of debt every year, to say nothing about the cost of books required for the classes.

In 2011, college graduates had an average of $28,000 of debt. If they wanted to pay this off within 10 years they’d have to pay $350 a month.

That requires constant payment and there are a lot of things that can set you back, such as taking time off work because of an injury or maternity leave, buying a luxury item for your own or someone else’s enjoyment or something else that requires money for maintenance.

Many people with student loans will have to live bare bones in order to pay off this debt.

Obviously this is going to turn a lot of people away from trying to get further education. This is really bad in our society since we value education and have so many positions that require a diploma or a degree.

As you can see the current system of student loans has some very negative side effects and can lead potential students to miss out on a lot in life.

It’s really time to give a different system a try. With the number of people in the Canadian bureaucratic system, surely a few could be spared to work on this pressing issue.

Raymond Cahill,

Souris Regional student