Free Tuition On the Way for NB’s Low Income Families
FREDERICTON – The New Brunswick government announced Thursday that it has created bursaries that will allow students from low-income families to receive free tuition.
The new Tuition Access Bursary will provide upfront financial assistance to students from families with an annual income of $60,000 or less and who attend a publicly funded university or college in New Brunswick.
“We are doing this so university and college tuition can be free for low income and many middle class New Brunswick families,” said Premier Brian Gallant. “As New Brunswickers, this is what we do: we help those who need it most.”
The federal government provides grants for students from low and middle income households who want to obtain a post-secondary education. Through the bursary, the provincial government will pay the difference between the federal grant provided to an eligible student and the amount owing for that student’s tuition.
In recent years, enrolment in the province’s public institutions has dropped, while tuition and public funding has continued to climb. Besides helping students afford an education, Post-Secondary Education, Training, and Labour minister Francine Landry says it will also encourage students to attend a post-secondary institution in the province.
“We have significant demographic challenges that will continue to affect enrolment at our universities and colleges,” said Landry. “This program will incentivize New Brunswickers to study here at home thus helping our publicly funded universities and colleges.”
The new bursary will be available to students for the timeline established for their program. For instance, an undergraduate university student enrolled in a program with an established timeline of five years would be eligible for the bursary each of those five years.
The program will start at the beginning of the 2016-17 academic year.
Under the Education and New Economy Fund, nearly $25 million will be invested in the bursary during the first year alone. The $25 million is comprised of $14.5 million for strategic initiatives like the Tuition Access Bursary, alongside additional monies raised by discontinuing the education and tuition amounts on the income tax return. This follows similar decisions by the federal and Ontario governments this year.
It is anticipated that 7,100 students will be eligible to immediately benefit from the bursary which represents about 23 per cent of New Brunswick students in the province’s public post-secondary institutions. Among students who apply for student financial assistance, more than 50 per cent will qualify for the bursary.
“This is a historic moment for our province,” said Landry. “And we are just getting started. Free tuition for those who need it most is the first step of a multi-phase plan to ensure that every New Brunswicker has an opportunity to reach their potential and contribute to the economic and social fabric of our province.”