Students, community members rally for accessible post-secondary education
Students, community members rally for accessible post-secondary education
WINNIPEG---Students and community members rallied at the Manitoba Legislature today as part of a National Student Day of Action.
"Tuition fees are skyrocketing in every province, students are buried in debt upon graduation, and universities and colleges are receiving less and less government funding," said Marakary Bayo, Manitoba Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "Now is the time to take action and demand that government recognise the growing cost of post-secondary education, the student debt crisis in Canada, and the underfunding of our universities and colleges."
Students from the University of Winnipeg, University of Manitoba and Université de Saint-Boniface, coalition partners of the student movement, and community members were at the rally in support of lowering the cost of attaining a post-secondary education and increasing accessibility to more and more Canadians.
"We are here today to demand that our elected representatives work towards building a more accessible and affordable system of post-secondary education," Bayo told the crowd at the Legislative Building.
"We need grants not loans, we need tuition fee reductions not a cap on increases, and our universities and colleges need substantial funding to be able to offer high-quality education.
"Students can no longer shoulder the costs of a system of public post-secondary education. Education is a public responsibility, a public good and a basic right for all. Our government needs to take on the majority of costs associated with offering high-quality, public post-secondary education," concluded Bayo.
Students began the march from the University of Winnipeg, singing songs and waving "Drop Student Debt" and "Reduce Tuition Fees" placards as they marched down Portage and Memorial until they reached the Legislative grounds.
The Canadian Federation of Students is Canada’s largest student organization, uniting more than one-half million students across the country and over 45,000 students in Manitoba from Brandon University, Université de Saint-Boniface, the University of Manitoba, and the University of Winnipeg.
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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Marakary Bayo, Chairperson, Canadian Federation of Students-Manitoba
office: (204) 783-0787 mobile: (204) 330-0017
Veuillez nous contacter pour fixer un entrevue en français.