ONTARIO STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS UNITE FOR #NEEDORGREED AND FIGHT FOR EQUITABLE AND AFFORDABLE TUITION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS.
Today, Student Associations from across Ontario come together to launch #NeedOrGreed, challenging government decision-makers and post-secondary institutions to recognize and mend their inequitable actions towards international students and ever-increasing tuition fees.
Across the province, international students pay higher tuition than their domestic peers, who themselves pay high tuition fees relative to the rest of the country. According to Ontario’s Auditor General, international students enrolled in Ontario colleges pay $14,306 on average, compared to $3,228 per domestic student. Additionally, while making up only 30 per cent of the student body across the province’s 24 colleges, international students provide 68 per cent of tuition revenue. Their fees alone were worth $1.7-billion last year, more than colleges received in provincial grants.
“International Students are tired of being treated like a bottomless pool to pad institutional budget lines, shouldering the weight of the government’s lack of funding. They deserve equity and certainty in their education,” says Sana Banu, Conestoga Students Inc. President and graduated international student. “These harmful and exploitive practices need to change. Why are yearly tuition increases generally limited to a max of 3 per cent for domestic students but up to 20 per cent for international students? Is this need or greed?”
As a movement for change, #NeedOrGreed is taking a series of actions, including:
- Advocating for a tuition freeze that applies to international students;
- Advocating for a commitment/limit to tuition increases for international students to 3 per cent, the same limit in place for domestic students;
- Advocating for predictable tuition and financial certainty for future academic years by implementing cohort tuition pricing;
- And other measures supportive of equitable international tuition.
On Thursday, November 17, 2022 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., students and allies will bring #NeedOrGreed to Queen’s Park for a peaceful protest, providing students a platform to advocate for themselves and make their voices heard at a provincial level alongside their student associations. Together, they will demand change to make education more affordable and predictable.
Led by the Ontario College Student Associations for International Tuition Equity Coalition, #NeedOrGreed is comprised of provincial wide student associations including Cambrian Students Council, Centennial College Student Association Incorporated, Conestoga Students Inc., IGNITE, Mohawk Students’ Association, Sheridan Student Union, and more. This student association collective advocates for the interest of over 120,000 postsecondary students, of which over 50,000 are international.
For more information on #NeedOrGreed contact:
Justin McLaughlin
Conestoga Students Inc.
Sr. Manager of Advocacy
jmclaughlin2@conestogac.on.ca
Melanie Extance
Mohawk Students’ Association
Governance and Advocacy Specialist
Melanie.extance@mohawkcollege.ca