We have a choice to do! Education is something very important for a lot of person but quality of that education is even more important. We have the choice between bad education with cheaper fees or a better education where everyone will have to invest a little bit more for their future. Here I will explain you why a cheaper education results in a poorer education and why an increase in the fees will lead to a better education where students will benefits much more.
Why do we have a poorer education when fees are low? Well, it is mainly for economic reasons. These economic reasons lead to the underfunded of our university system. When the universities are underfunded, they cannot hire enough good teachers for every students and therefore there is too much students per class and this affects automatically the quality our education. When teachers have too many students, for them, seeing them not as a number is much more difficult; therefore the services the teachers can give to students is not as good as it should be. Even more, teachers have fewer funds for their class and therefore they have fewer tools to help students. This, I think, have a bigger issue on grades and the quality of education students receive than the few more hours they have to work to pay the increase.
Now, why having a little increase in fees gives us a better education? It is because the university, the teachers, the students, and everybody will receive more tools and therefore a much better chance to gain more knowledge. When universities have more funds, teachers have fewer students per class therefore they can adapt more easily to their students learning style and help them to receive a better education. Moreover, for a university, having more funds mean that they will be able to buy new technologies and this is one of the most important aspects for a university. Technologies improve the overall level of education that a university can give because it helps students to develop and reach their capacities in the same technology world as they will work when they will finish their university and go on the labour market.
Finally, not raising tuition fees will result in a poorer quality of education. On the other hand, when the university can give more tools to students and buy them the most recent technologies (with a substantial increase of tuition fees like it is presently the case), the diplomas of students will have more values on the international labour market than if our university system is underfunded like it is presently the case. Does a general strike for a poorer education justified or should we work a little bit more to invest in our education, in a better education?
We have a choice to do, what will you choose?
Ludovic Auger, student at Dawson College in commerce
