Bob Rae’s year-long commission on post-secondary education in Ontario came to an end this week as the former premier released his report. CUPE has posted its initial analysis. In short: good diagnosis, lousy prescription.
The report recommends, among other things, establishing an “arms length” agency that would oversee tuition fee levels, but that otherwise, tuition fees would be completely deregulated.
Rae argues for more funding for universities and for reinstating grants for students (which his government eliminated) but the funding recommendations fall short of what’s needed and the grants would be available only to students whose family income was less than $35,000 per year.
But the report isn’t all bad news. Rae does pay attention to high school drop out rates, the role that teaching assistants play in the education system, and does make concrete suggestions about how to get more traditionally underrepresented groups into post-secondary education.
The report recommends, among other things, establishing an “arms length” agency that would oversee tuition fee levels, but that otherwise, tuition fees would be completely deregulated.
Rae argues for more funding for universities and for reinstating grants for students (which his government eliminated) but the funding recommendations fall short of what’s needed and the grants would be available only to students whose family income was less than $35,000 per year.
But the report isn’t all bad news. Rae does pay attention to high school drop out rates, the role that teaching assistants play in the education system, and does make concrete suggestions about how to get more traditionally underrepresented groups into post-secondary education.