Government funding will pay campus renewal fee for MUN students this school year
Funding will save students about $500, says education minister
Newfoundland and Labrador is putting $10 million of funding into Memorial University to give students a one-year break from paying the school's campus renewal fee.
The money is on top of funding already announced in the most recent provincial budget, according to a press release, and will lower the cost for a full-time undergraduate student by $500.
Krista Lynn Howell, Newfoundland and Labrador's new education minister, said the change will help students and is feasible for this year but isn't a permanent measure.
"There's a very significant cost in the cost of living these days, and we wanted to make a commitment," Howell said Tuesday.
Jivin Mohammad, a full-time international student, said the $500 savings will help him over the school year and help him travel around St. John's.
"That's actually really, really great," he said. "Especially since I'm an international student, I'm having to pay like $20,000 per year, which is a little expensive. That actually makes me feel really good."
However, the union that represents about 11,000 MUN students says the savings don't go far enough.
"This is a one-time payment of $10 million. It's a drop in the bucket compared to the $68.4 million reduction [in funding] from this government," said John Harris, executive director of external affairs with the Memorial University of Newfoundland Students' Union.
"We need a commitment to get rid of this fee entirely. We also need a commitment to reinstate that $68.4 million that we've cut and to bring back tuition freeze rates."
Harris said charges like the campus renewal fee can add up to greatly increase the cost of post-secondary education.
Taking $500 for a year will help, he said, but it's small when it comes to the thousands students will continue to pay.
Howell said the provincial government is having daily conversations about how they can support students but didn't say whether more cost-saving measures would be coming.
"We recognize that there are significant challenges for students in Newfoundland and Labrador, and we want to continue to support them however we can," she said.
"We want to continue to make education accessible and affordable."
With files from Terry Roberts