EDUCATION IS A RIGHT
High tuition fees have a discriminatory impact on students from middle- and low-income households, who are more likely to need loans to fund their education. These barriers are made worse for students from marginalized communities. Indigenous and racialized students are more likely to come from lower-income households and therefore less likely to be able to pay for school without taking on debt. Students facing other forms of oppression, such as ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and sexism are less likely to have the services and support needed to access education. Removing systemic and financial barriers to education is a key component of achieving an accessible system of post-secondary education for all.
FUND THE FUTURE
MUNSU members are united with public post-secondary students in the province through the Canadian Federation of Students to fight for a high-quality and fully accessible system of post-secondary education for all. As a result, students in Newfoundland and Labrador have made significant achievements in improving the accessibility of the province’s public post-secondary system including a legacy of low and frozen tuition fees, funding for student grant programs, and the elimination of interest on student loans.
In 2022, students were burdened with a massive tuition increase, where new students were forced to pay over twice what they previously would have. Since this increase, students have protested these costs through various actions and demonstrations.
The Fund the Future campaign unites and mobilizes students from across the province in the fight to lower and eliminate tuition fees, and ensure appropriate funding for universities and colleges.
Tuition fees per course for Newfoundlander/Labradorian, out-of-province Canadian, and International students since 1955.
FIGHT THE FEES
Post-secondary education may be in the provincial jurisdiction, but it is a national issue. Students across the country face barriers in accessing education, and students are united from coast to coast in the fight for a just education system.
The 3 pillars of the Fight the Fees campaign are:
UNIVERSAL ACCESS
Regardless of where you are born, how old you are or the background you come from, everyone should be able to access higher education and skills training without the barrier of cost or the fear of incurring debt.
EDUCATION JUSTICE
Students who are being pushed out of the current model of colleges and universities today are disproportionately Indigenous, racialized, queer and trans, people with disabilities, people raised in single-parent homes and people from low-income families. Our public education system must not further marginalize these communities. Education is a pathway to liberation.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Public education is a public good that society benefits from as a whole and it must be funded as such. Post-secondary education in Canada must be by the public, for the public. Colleges and universities must be not-for-profit and not tailored to private interests.
RECENT WINS
2023
$10 million was redirected back to MUN from the provincial government, ensuring that students would no longer pay a $50/course ancillary fee called the Campus Renewal Fee. Minister of Education Krista Lynn Howell stated that this decision was a direct result of MUNSU’s initiatives.
2002
After lobbying the provincial government for years, domestic students win a 25% decrease in tuition fees.
1999
A tuition freeze was implemented, lasting 22 years for domestic students. This represented one of the largest student movement wins in Canadian history.
RECENT MEDIA
HISTORY
“The majority view [...] with which the Committee concurs, is that foreign students add significantly to the quality of life at Memorial and their attendance should not be discouraged by implementing differential fees.”