Canadian families are making sacrifices in order to put their children through post-secondary education, according to a new survey. Parents reported eating in restaurants less, forgoing vacations, working more and borrowing against their homes or lines of credit to pay university or college tuitions.
Particularly hard-it are families helping elderly parents at the same time as they have children in school. A majority of students’ families surveyed said they were comfortable, but almost 16 per cent said they were barely making ends meet and four per cent said they were unable to pay their basic bills.
Savings not enough for tuition
Respondents estimated savings for post-secondary education ate up 13.5 per cent of their annual budget, about the same they spent on food. However their savings only covered a portion of student costs.
Governments should provide more grants for low and middle-income students, concludes the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations which did the survey. It adds the government should lower or eliminate the expected parental contribution to tuition to make it easier for students to qualify for loans.
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.