In addition to having to try to find work in this job forsaken city we got another surprise...this time in the mail. My husband's tuition costs went up 21% or basically a $1300 hike in fees, and WE are on the hook for the extra. Second career will ONLY cover up to their set maximum and no further. Better yet, we have to come up with this $640 by July 4th or else we have to pay 6.25% non refundable fee based on the balance that is owing or about $40, and that is just for term 3. It would be an additional $640 for next term as well (assuming they don't ramp the fees up again.) This doesn't include any textbooks that he "might" have to buy.
Where exactly is a family on assistance supposed to come up with this money?? How can the colleges get away with hijacking students in the middle of their course? To me it is the same as renting an apartment for $800 bucks a month and then getting told "oh by the way we decided that in this month our rates are going up to $900, that isn't a problem for you is it?" Well guess what, landlords in our province are not permitted to do that, so why can the school system?
Where on Earth is the justice for students who are trying their best to make ends meet? Where is the fairness for the 2nd career students who are trapped in their program. IF my spouse fails to complete the course, we'd owe ALL the money back. But we also can't afford for him to continue unless we give up certain luxuries like food. We are literally trapped and captive to the program, and as I said before, the last time he applied for bursaries we were turned down because he wasn't a student with financial need BECAUSE he was getting 2nd career.
Does the government care at all about the people that they gave this "help" to? Why do they not have something in place to cover these tuition hike ups? Why are they not covering the lab fees for programs?
Something seems very wrong with a system where they say they will help you, but in fact they won't. Where they pretend to care, but they really don't. To be fair my husband did expect a tuition increase...just not a 21% tuition hike. We figured out some of it, and the expense they were originally not going to give to 2nd year students (lab fees) has actually been applied to the 2nd year students.
Our Province has the highest tuition in the country, and yet the worst problems with employment. How are students supposed to make ends meet when there are very few jobs and a lot of people who need them? An article I read said that students accessing food banks is on the rise, I can understand that fully and I sympathize with them. Just too bad our own government does not.
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