Volume 40 - No. 17 - January 22, 1998
by Mark Cooper
the Carillon
Cost is the number one barrier to access to post-secondary education, according to polling released by the provincial government last week.
But the news doesn't come as much of a surprise to many students.
"It's great to see the government realizing something students have known for so long," says Tatum Benz, a student at the University of Regina. "It just goes to show how far out of touch they (the government) really are."
A semester's tuition currently costs an average of $1500 at the U of R and is expected to rise to $1849 by the 2001-02 school year. Universities have been raising tuitions, with the exceptions of those in British Columbia and Quebec, in response to the cutbacks they have been receiving from governments in the past years.
The polling was commissioned by the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education (PSE) in Saskatchewan to "determine the degree of awareness, understanding and appreciation of the Ministry's initiatives as well as the appropriate communications approach."
With over 90% of university students describing cost as the primary barrier to a post-secondary >education, Marjorie Brown, U of R Students' Union President, is concerned with the funding situation.
"This is a much more serious situation than any one realizes. The government must bear a level of responsibility that they have yet to do."
Brown's position reflects that of the government's poll, which shows that approximately 55% of Saskatchewan's population believes the provincial government is the group bearing the most responsibility for lifting the barriers confronting students.
David Barnard, Vice-president of Administration for the University of Regina, agrees.
"While the University does have the responsibility of setting the tuition levels, these decisions are influenced by the actions of the government. The government clearly carries the majority of the burden."
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