YUFA
External
PARENTS WORRY
ABOUT ACCESS TO POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
OTTAWA,
May 07, 2001 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) -- “Ontario parents are
worried their children won’t be able to get into college or university,
mainly because of the costs,” said Michael Doucet, Vice-President,
Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA).
An
Ipsos-Reid poll commissioned by members of the Postsecondary Education
Coalition, released today, shows that 70 per cent of Ontario parents are
concerned (43 per cent very concerned) that their kids may not be able to
attend university or college, even if they are qualified and choose to do
so. For the vast majority of parents, cost (79%) is the over-riding factor
as to why they are concerned.
Further,
all respondents were asked about their views on what should be done with
respect to the impending “double cohort” – the echo boom of students
who will be applying to colleges and universities over the next number of
years. It is clear that this large influx of eligible students will place
a strain on the priorities of the educational institution infrastructure.
When asked to choose between four options which could be implemented to
accommodate this large increase in the number of qualified student
applications, two thirds (64%) chose the increase in provincial government
funding for universities and colleges, even though this may result in a
cancellation of planned tax cuts or reduced government spending in other
areas. Only 16% chose the establishment of private universities and
colleges throughout the province, and smaller proportions chose raising
student entrance requirements to universities and colleges to restrict the
number of students admitted (12%) and increasing student tuition fees to
universities and colleges (6%).
The
release of the findings of this poll today comes on the heels of an Ipsos-Reid
poll released on Friday, May 4, 2001 which shows that education ranks as
the second most important issue on the public agenda, only 1% behind the
health care issue.
“People
are telling us that when they are given their independent choice as to
what option should be pursued by the government, they would rather see an
investment in postsecondary education even at the expense of further tax
cuts,” said Doucet. The poll shows that this even includes 53 % of
decided PC voters who want more provincial funding for universities and
colleges, even if it means canceling tax cuts or reducing spending in
other areas.
“That’s
a wake-up call if ever there was one,” said Erin George, Ontario
Chairperson, Canadian Federation of Students. “With tuition fee hikes at
60 % over the past five years in regulated programs and by as much as 521%
in some deregulated programs, there is little doubt as to why parents and
students are as concerned as they are over the rising cost of a university
education.”
“The
results of the poll are also a reflection of what the government’s own
advisory bodies, including the most recent report in March by the
Investing in Students Task Force, have called for, which is new public
investment in the system to ensure that postsecondary education is kept
affordable,” said Brian O’Keefe, Ontario Division, CUPE.
“There is a tremendous need to invest in the postsecondary system now,” said O’Keefe. “The demands of increasing enrolment, faculty retirements, and high student/faculty ratios require an increase to base operating grants of $500 million over the next four years.
“The
deadline to respond is now. Wednesday’s Ontario Budget must include
major new dollars for our colleges and universities. An increase of 2 or 3
per cent will not keep up to inflation and it won’t touch the needs we
have outlined. And our polling says that the public is prepared to pay,”
said Leah Casselman, President, OPSEU.
The
Ipsos-Reid poll was commissioned by the Ontario Confederation of
University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), the Canadian Federation of
Students - Ontario (CFS-O), the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU);
and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
The poll was conducted between April 16th and April 25th, 2001 among 1,000 randomly selected adult Ontarians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within (+/-) 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Ontario population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample’s regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Ontario population according to the 1996 Census data. The Ipsos-Reid poll results can be accessed at:
http://www.ipsos-reid.com/media/content/PRE_REL.cfm