Nova Scotia Declared Canada’s University Capital, Students say Policy Changes Needed First

(Halifax) – Students aren’t convinced by a new marketing campaign that declares Nova Scotia as Canada’s university capital. The campaign markets Nova Scotia as the country’s premier education destination. Representatives from the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations (ANSSA) are disappointed that the campaign isn’t being matched with much needed policy changes from the provincial government.

“Compared to the rest of Canada, Nova Scotia actually lags behind the rest of the country on a number of measures of success in post-secondary education,” says Mark Coffin, Executive Director of ANSSA.

Seven out of ten provinces in Canada have conducted comprehensive reviews of their post-secondary education systems, from which long term goals and targets have been developed.

“Our government doesn’t actually have any long term goals for the university system, meanwhile other provinces have set lofty targets,” adds Coffin. “How can we call ourselves Canada’s university capital when we have no plan for the future?”

ANSSA is calling on the government to conduct a comprehensive review of the post-secondary education system in Nova Scotia and to develop a long term plan for the system to address several of the system’s unaddressed problems.

The average student in Nova Scotia pays $ 5,696 in tuition each year, the second highest of any province in Canada.

Students from out of province pay a higher price for education than their Nova Scotian classmates, amounting to a differential fee of $1,022 this year.

The new campaign boasts Nova Scotia as a setting for research excellence. However, Nova Scotia does not join research leaders like Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec in offering Graduate Student Scholarships to attract and retain youth in the province.

Student leaders will be meeting with the Premier, Education Minister and the Education Critic later this week to discuss their concerns among their pre-budget recommendations.

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