Students at the University of Windsor plan to make their disapproval of funding cuts to universities and student financial assistance known at a rally this week on campus.
The demonstration outside the CAW Student Centre is planned for Thursday at noon and will involve students, university workers, alumni, and concerned members of the community.
The group is denouncing changes announced last week by the Ford government to cut institutional funding by four per cent, eliminate free tuition subsidies for low-income students, end the six-month grace period before students have to pay interest on their student loans, and cut provincial grants through the Ontario Student Assistance Program.
"Students at the University of Windsor are not fooled by the Ontario government's attempt to disguise these cuts behind an overall reduction in student fees," the student group said a news release. "Students know that any benefit they might see from lower tuition fees will be outweighed by the increased student debt and various out-of-pocket expenses."
The Ford government calls a 10 per cent cut to tuition fees the first step of its overall reform of postsecondary education affordability. It also said it was "refocussing the Ontario Student Assistance Program to ensure it remains sustainable and viable for future students while directing a greater proportion of OSAP funding to families with the greatest financial need."
"The previous government believed in handing out OSAP money to some of Ontario's highest income earners with virtually no meaningful criteria for success," said Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Merrilee Fullerton. "It is no surprise that student enrolment has remained flat while tuition rates have skyrocketed."
Enrolment at St. Clair College reached an all-time high in September 2017 before a strike by college faculty one year ago. Compared with 2016, enrolment increased 12 per cent according to the college.
At the University of Windsor, enrolment reached a near-all-time high at 16,000 students.
Meanwhile, the Student Representative Council at St. Clair College also says it, and other college student organizations across Ontario are in the process of launching campaigns against the funding cuts.
"Taken together, the off-setting combination of the tuition reduction and the OSAP changes will, in our opinion, carry little -- if any -- long-term benefit for students," the council said in a release.
It expressed alarm about the "Student Choice Initiative" contained in last week's announcement from the government. It said giving students a choice to pay some fees and not others will impact many services including the administration of a student health plan, scholarships and bursaries, a food bank, and the representation of students in academic and non-academic disciplinary matters and grade appeals.
"Unless student organizations are provided with secure, predictable, long-term sources of revenue -- guaranteed by mandatory fees, those current services and future facility developments will be jeopardized," the council said.
The cut in tuition fees for all students at colleges and universities in Ontario will take effect this September and remain in place for the following school year.
