ALBERTA CONSIDERS FREE TUITION FOR POST- SECONDARY EDUCATION

Calgary Free tuition for the first two years for all Alberta students’ post- secondary education is one idea the provincial government is considering as it reviews the system. Advanced Education Minister Dave Hancock’s comments came on the same day the Tories announced details of the $400 energy rebate program for all Albertans amid a projected $6.8-billion budget surplus. With Alberta’s tuition fees the second-highest in the country, Mr. Hancock said free schooling is one of several ideas being discussed as a means to increase post-secondary access and affordability across the province. He was non- committal on his position, saying he’s divided between free education and deregulation. “ If you’d asked me a year ago, I’d have said in an ideal world that because a good liberal arts education is a value to society we ought to pay for the first couple years,” he told the Calgary Herald editorial board. “ The other end of the spectrum is to deregulate it. Maybe you ought to charge a little more, but throw in a computer for first-year students and part of their tuition could be tax deductible.”