At Home: Wildrose Promises Forgiveness of Half of Student Loans.
In Alberta, the Wildrose party is promising to forgive 50% of student loans for post-secondary grads in high demand fields in Alberta. However, rather than being based solely on inflation, tuition policy would now cap tuition based on inflation and population growth.
Wildrose leader, Danielle Smith, says about the governing Progressive Conservatives “They talk about having a cap on tuition increases relative to inflation, but then all of these additional fees have popped up,” referring to the province telling universities that they were willing to look at one time “market modifiers” to allow post-secondary institutions to increase tuition in specific programs to better match their competitor’s tuition. This could mean an increase of up to 58% for Alberta Law students.
Around the Globe: UK Public Supports International Students
The PIE News is reporting that a recent study done in the UK has indicated that the public there overwhelmingly supports allowing internationals students to remain in the UK and take up employment there after they graduate. Almost 60% of the UK public has said that the government should not reduce international student numbers, as they recognize that these students contribute to the local economy through having to purchase rent, food, transportation, and entertainment in the community. They also recognize that the higher fees paid by international students benefit the university with a similar percentage agreeing that without the fees from international students, universities would have less funding to invest in top quality facilities and teaching.
While the Conservative Party, lead by UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, has placed immigration control high on its platform for next years elections, statistics from the report reveal that support for allowing international students to remain in Britain is highest among Conservative voters.
The report goes on to recommend that the government remove international students from any net migration targets and launch, and invest in, an international student growth strategy for the country.
