February 25 2019

How Government Cuts to OSAP are A Streaming Issue 

Last month, under Premier Doug Ford’s leadership the province announced cuts to free tuition to university and colleges for low-income students.

Under the former Liberal government, families earning up to $175,000 could qualify for some funding. However, the Ministry of Universities and Colleges announced that although low-income students would still receive grants, the income threshold would be lowered to $140,000 and part of the grants would be converted into loans instead.

However, lowering the threshold of post-secondary education will make the possibility of attending university or college very limited for low-income students.

It’s important to note that these cuts will also add to the current inequities that students face due to academic streaming in Ontario schools. In 2017, the Ministry of Education’s Equity Action Plan, showed that academic streaming disproportionately impacts low-income students in the applied stream. With little financial support from the provincial government to attend college or university, the likelihood of students selecting academic courses with the intention to attend post-secondary schooling can be affected.

Further, the reduction of funding sends a clear message from the government: students from low-income households do not belong in postsecondary institutions. Consequently, without the prospect of affordable post-secondary education the likelihood of attaining sustainable employment will also be impacted.

We urge the government to put the needs of students first and to consider the long-term and systematic effect that the proposed OSAP cuts will have on the futures of elementary and high school students. Most importantly, we urge Doug Ford to consider streaming as a pre-existing barrier to student opportunities, and how cuts on OSAP will further exacerbate access to quality education for students in low-income households.

We encourage you to join the Coalition for Alternatives to Streaming in Education and sign our petition to advocate for an equitable and just education system for all students in Ontario.