Government announces Ontario Tuition Grant

by Kyle Mumford

The Ontario government will introduce their Ontario Tuition Grant to post-secondary students in January.

In a conference call Thursday, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Glenn Murray said, “Affordability is an important part of the process…education and health care are our priority.”

Students who have been out of high school for four years or less will receive a grant to assist with the rising cost of education in Ontario.  Students whose parents make $160,000 a year or less will be eligible to receive the assistance with university students receiving $1,600 and college students receiving $730.

Murray said the application will be four questions and will be available for students to fill out in early to mid-December.  If a student has already applied for OSAP, they don’t need to apply since they are already registered for the grant.  Murray said about 320,000 students will receive funding.

In January, students who meet the ministry’s requirements will receive a cheque for half of the grant money with the full grant beginning in the 2012-2013 school year.

Murray said the cost per year, if all students eligible for the grant apply, will cost the government $450 million per year.  The price of the grant has been factored into the Liberal’s budget, which comes out to $1.5 billion per year.

The Liberal government has introduced the grant as an alternative to tuition freezes which they say reduces tuition but has a negative effect on the education.  This way the tuition cost is supplemented but the schools still receive necessary money to run their programs.