The provincial government has proposed a new act to make post-secondary education more affordable.
The legislation, An Act to Improve the Affordability and Accessibility of Post-Secondary Education, would amend the Post-Secondary Learning Act.
In the proposed act, Marlin Schmidt, the minister of advanced education, can regulate tuition and mandatory non-instructional fees.
The framework also allows government to cap institutions’ average tuition, give increased predictability for international students and empower students to speak up on fee increases.
“We need to make sure that students can afford to get a good university or college education, and that they have a say in the decisions that affect their education … By empowering our students, we help them get a good education and set our province up for continued success in the future,” Schmidt said.
The tuition freeze will also be extended for a fifth consecutive year.
If the proposal passes, changes would be effective February 1, 2019.
