Sydney Keyamo: Vote for the future – The Nova Scotia election and the student vote
New contributor Sydney Keyama on the election issues that matter to students and young people.
Tuition fees
Open letter calling for reduced student tuition and increased funding for post-secondary institutions
At the end of a challenging year of online classes, Nova Scotia universities are voting to once again raise fees for the coming year. Today, an alliance of 20 higher-education unions, non-unionized workers, and student associations in Nova Scotia, formed at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, released an open letter to Premier Iain Rankin and Labour and Advanced Education Minister Lena Diab calling on them to step up to support struggling students.
Dalhousie Board of Governors increases tuition for students once again, despite pandemic
Yesterday afternoon the Dalhousie Board of Governors voted in favour of a three percent tuition increase and an $1473 increase in international student differential fees. This comes an hour after students rallied to freeze fees. The tuition increase works out to an extra $243 for arts students and $276 for science students.
Dalhousie students camp out in support of tuition freeze
Students are camping out on the Dalhousie quad in protest of a three-percent tuition hike, the maximum yearly increase the government permits.
Wayne Desmond: Much more must be done to remove barriers faced by Black learners
We have been talking about it for decades, but Black kids still face huge barriers in Nova Scotia’s educational system. Wayne Desmond suggests more money for support workers and more funding for bursaries and scholarships could be a place to start addressing the achievement gap.
“In the context of COVID-19, for a lot of students it’s the last straw” – Dalhousie and Kings students demand tuition freeze
Students at Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College are demanding a tuition freeze after university administration announced a three per cent rise in fees. Meanwhile, international students are slated to pay nearly two thousand dollars extra next year. Reporter David J. Shuman reports.
Saint Mary’s lockdown rules unfairly target international students
Wayne Desmond reflects on harsh and expensive lockdown rules for foreign students entering Nova Scotia. “It becomes apparent that universities have a lot more work to do engaging with their international students and understanding their needs, vulnerabilities and desire to be treated with the same consideration, respect and dignity as Canadian students,” he writes.
“We’re miles apart” – Dalhousie Faculty Association files for conciliator
Collective bargaining at Dalhousie University has reached an impasse, and the Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) has filed for a provincially-appointed conciliator.
Media release: Students provided with no relief while returning to university in pandemic
Media release: Students are headed back to school this fall feeling the same as when classes abruptly ended six months ago, stressed and frustrated.
Overpriced and underserved: St Mary’s University’s response to COVID-19 gets a failing grade
“Personally, I am sick of the platitudes such as “we hear you” when the bureaucracy of executives clearly do not.” SMU student Jeremy Hebb argues that when COVID-19 arrived the university abandoned its students.