By the Numbers: Education - Right or Privilege?

Tuition fees for post-secondary education have increased to record levels in most provinces, according to a Statistics Canada release. Tuition fees are the main barrier to post-secondary education. Student debt in Canada is becoming unbearable and is having a detrimental impact on students’ mental health; the higher the financial worry the greater levels of anxiety, tension, difficulty sleeping and other disorders.

• $78,817 is the total cost of post-secondary education for students not living at home.

• $28,000 is the average student debt in Canada.

• $13,000 is the average student debt in Quebec, the lowest in Canada.

• 14 is the average number of years to pay off student debt.

• 43 per cent is the increase in average student debt that new graduates carry (compared to debt levels for the year 2000).

• $34,000 is the cost of living (housing and meals) for four years of university for students not living at home.

• 4.3per cent is the undergraduate tuition fees increase in 2012 to an average of $5,366.

• “Since 1991 tuition fees have increased well above the rate of inflation. Had university tuition fees for undergraduate students increased at the rate of inflation beginning in 1991 average tuition fees in Canada would be approximately $2,130, well below the current average $5,366.” (CNW Group/Canadian Federation of Students)

• Only 58.5 per cent of 18-24 year old with a before tax family income of $25,000 or less enrolled in post-secondary education compared with 81 per cent of those with family income of more than $100,000. (2011 Report Card)

• $39,523 is the average starting salary for new graduates.

• 83 per cent of Canadians support reducing or freezing tuition fees, according to recent poll conducted by the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the Canadian Federation of Students.

Source: Statistics Canada, various tables; Canadian Federation of Students