U of M students hold rally against 4 per cent tuition increase

Students have gathered at the University of Manitoba to rally against a four per cent tuition hike.

Those who CityNews spoke to say they just want to finish their schooling without worrying whether or not they can afford it.

Hailea Banman is one of those students. She is in her third year at the U of M and says she has two jobs just to keep up with her cost of living, tuition, and basic needs, and still feels that’s not enough.

“ I mean, coming here alone with gas prices and textbooks and parking is $15 a day on its own too, so, for me to come to campus today, it cost me $40, and think how many days in a week that adds up real quick,” said Banman.

Banman says she may have to push back her graduation year because she fears she won’t be able to handle all her expenses.

“Look, on paper it adds up quite quickly when you’re paying, for example, I think my tuition on average, a semester I take three or four classes. I pay six grand, I’m not very good with math, four per cent of six grand adds up, especially when you’re in school for some people eight years,” Banman explained.

Renée Cable, Minister of Advanced Education and Training, says, “We continue to be the lowest tuition in all of Western Canada, and that’s something that we’re really proud about in Manitoba. We offer interest-free student loans, increase scholarships and bursaries. It is a great post-secondary institution here in Manitoba. “

In a statement to CityNews, University of Manitoba president and vice-chancellor Michael Benarroch says, “Currently, our tuition remains 22.5 per cent below the national average, according to Statistics Canada. We understand that this increase will be an adjustment for students, but we remain committed to supporting accessibility through scholarships and bursaries.”

However Banman says, “I always say to my friends and stuff like that you need to pay to make it in life, you have to pay for your degree if you wanna get a good career and get a good job and especially with the cost of living, you kind of need a career and a good job to survive so it’s just making it out of touch for a lot of students and it’s gonna make it a lot more inaccessible.”