Poll finds support for tying tuition hikes to inflation

As Queen’s Park prepares to reveal its long-overdue plan for tuition “in the near future” — possibly as soon as next week — a student group poll shows 71 per cent of Ontarians believe postsecondary fees should not rise faster than inflation.

Moreover, some 60 per cent of 500 people surveyed for the Onta- rio Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) said they believe the province should freeze tuition — at $7,180, the highest in Canada — and boost government funding to universities despite the deficit.

“And 70 per cent said they thought the government should tie any future increases to inflation, which is what we’ve been calling for,” said Rylan Kinnon, president of OUSA which commissioned the survey by Nanos Research. That same 70 per cent disagree with letting universities continue to raise tuition by 5 per cent per year, which has been the cap for nearly seven years. Colleges and universities have urged the province to keep letting them hike fees by 5 per cent a year to make up for government’s dwindling education support. However, OUSA and the College Student Alli- ance have called for a freeze, followed by raises linked to inflation, and the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario wants fees cut by 30 per cent over three years. In an interview earlier this month with the Star, MPP Brad Duguid, minister of training, colleges and universities, hinted he was not inclined to allow colleges and universities to continue to raise tuition 5 per cent per year.

Government sources have said the new multi-year tuition “framework” should be ready by the end of March so schools can notify students of the fees due this fall.

Duguid’s press secretary Emily Hedges said, “We are in final discussions with our partners in postsecondary education, stakeholders and student groups and will be releasing something in the near future.”