The value of education is one thing most Canadians can agree on – where they disagree is who should foot the bill. Is post-secondary education something students should finance themselves, or an investment that the government should make in its citizens.
Post-secondary education allows for greater social mobility. College and university graduates have more employment opportunities at higher paying jobs.
Iglika Ivanova of the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives says, “University graduates experience shorter periods of unemployment, are more likely to work full-time and earn higher salaries than their peers with high school diplomas”.
This is good for the individual graduate, but it is also an economic benefit to society.
“Over their working lives, women with an undergraduate degree contribute, on average, $106,000 more to the public treasury than women with only a high school diploma,” Says Ivanova. “Similarly, university-educated men contribute $159,000 more to the public treasury than men with only a high school diploma.”
This is just the individual’s contribution to taxes. According to Statistics Canada women with a university degree currently, earn on average 58% more than women with a high school diploma and 41% more than those with a college education. Women with higher education are therefore likely to have more disposable income that contributes to the wider economy.
If education is such a benefit to society isn’t society better off if everyone has access to it. Tuition fees present a barrier to education for some students and a challenge for many. The average Canadian tuition cost in 2018-2019 was $6,838 according to Statistics Canada, an increase of 3.3% from the previous year.
Many students can only afford education by going into debt. Graduates will then be starting out their working lives in debt. Apart from the difficulty on the individual this money is also not being spent in ways that might benefit the economy. The young person burdened by debt is not buying a house, making investments, or spending in local businesses.
Currently, in BC tuition fees represent around 40% of the cost of education, the rest is paid by the government. The higher taxes paid over a graduate’s career more than makes up for the cost to the government. If the graduate pays $159,000 more in taxes after a four-year degree that costs $50,630 of which the government pays 60%. If tuition fees were removed the difference in earning would still be over a $100.000 more into the public purse than the cost of the degree. Moreover, removing tuition fees would increase the number of graduates earning higher wages and contributing more to the public purse and the economy.
The government paying full tuition for students would be a beneficial investment for the future. More students could pursue post-secondary education, those students would repay the cost of their education through tax contributions over their lifetime. They would also contribute to the economy by having more disposable income rather than spending their money paying off student debts. The smartest investment BC can make is in its students.
