My Daily Vibe

30% Off!

I don’t care who they are, they need to up their game.

Today I was asked to write a review on a policy surrounding the 30% off tuition fees in Ontario. The report I read was actually published by a lobbying group called the Canadian Federation of Students. This so-called Briefing Note was one sided supported by only minimal research and statistical data collection and therefore should be considered a pity cry for the economically stupid students.

“While the grant will help many students, it adds further complications to an already complex financial aid system and fails to help students who need it the most.”

The briefing note then sets out a number of “Exclustions”, of reasons why students would not be eligible for the grant. This is ridiculous.
“According to the Ontario Student Assistance Program, students are considered
dependent if…” and the list goes on.

Let’s step back for a moment, please, and review what it is to be a community worker. As you’re career grows, you work for larger and larger centres that soon turn into corporations that soon turn into NGO’s that soon turn into government positions of authority and policy making. So, from this long succession of success and power of the one who has written this policy in the first place, has obvious intentions within the government of Ontario and has presumably had plenty of meetings concerning this policy with important people with money. These days, Canada is only worried about getting our strong nation higher up in the World Market. We should, as part of humanity, want to help our country become something that is worth remembering and teaching about. Society is constantly on the move, so why should we give money to those individuals who are not dedicated to moving forward and advancing their COLLEGE and UNDERGRADUATE DIPLOMAS and DEGREES and therefore ARE eligible.

And it’s interesting that my conclusion and the CFS’ conclusion are the same.

Some examples:

“Exclusion Two
Students in Second Entry Programs
Second-entry programs like teacher’s college, law, medicine, physiotherapy and dentistry are taken after students have completed a program and have often already accumulated significant student debt.”

My response:

Second-entry study programs are meant for those who excel in their field and therefore private scholarships and grants, being part of a capitalistic government, will, in a competitive market, put out applications for those dedicated enough to spend the time and energy applying to these scholarships. That makes sense.

“Exclusion 3
Graduate students
Graduate students in Ontario
pay the highest tuition fees in
Canada and have less access to
financial aid than undergraduate
students.”

My response:

Again, like above, Graduate students are in upper level studying, it is a competitive market for success driven individuals working their way up with all the same struggle, just making the right choices and working the hours and filling out the paper work and accumulating debt that will make the cut for these Canadian Government jobs that are oh so precious.

“Exclusion 6:
International students:
International students in Ontario
pay two to three times the amount
of tuition fees that domestic
students pay for the same
education.”

This is pure politics. There ought to be a reason why almost half my friends at York university pay upwards of $20, 000 a year. It does not bother them. Our education system is one of the best in the world and should be sought after by students world wide. I have a friend who’s government pays for his schooling abroad in Canada because of the QUALITY of education we provide. There is a cost to that, there is a high cost. It is worth it.

I guess my point is, for times sake, this article could have been better. Any writer worker in a lobby group should do much more research in order to make his point more clear. His points are very good, and what OSAP is doing is not a great choice for National academic growth, but this Brief was amateur and single sided, one track minded.

Tip: When writing for a lobby group, look at all aspects of the government as it is presented, as a beaurocrazy, and acknowledge the truth that it is all controlled by a select population of capitalist, power-hungry, people friendly, masquerade ball attendees.