Keep tuition freeze, then reduce post-secondary fees, says NDP leader

The Newfoundland and Labrador New Democrats want to maintain the years-long tuition freeze at Memorial University, while "progressively" reducing other tuition fees, the party said in an announcement Wednesday.

Leader Alison Coffin announced the NDP's plan in an election announcement at Broken Books in St. John's.

"Student debt is a serious issue. For many who choose to go to university or college, student debt and tuition fees are barriers to potential students," Coffin said.

"They may meet all the academic requirements, but simply cannot afford the up-front cost of an education."

Coffin said cuts to post-secondary education will hurt the institutions themselves, as well as theirstudents, adding that government should be maintaining the funding, not cutting it.

Those cuts directly affect students' ability to access education, leaving them withfatter loans and leading to "outmigration" as recent graduates "are forced to move away to find a job,"she added.

She said her party commits to reinstating the "full needs-based grant" for students while simultaneously increasing "core funding" forMemorial University and College of the North Atlantic.

Sending money straight to schools will"address the huge deferred maintenance problem and return their facilities to an acceptable level," she said.

The MUN campus in St. John's, for example, has infrastructure problems that see leaks in ceilings, crumbling walls and lack of water in fountains, to cite a few of the recent headline-making issues.

Two years ago, MUN vice-president Noreen Golfman described the institution as a "pathetic, physical plant" whose problems aren't just cosmetic.

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