As compared to general inflation, tuition fees have skyrocketed. We all know this. Meanwhile, while wages have increased, they haven’t reached anywhere near the levels necessary to match the same kind of lifestyle one could maintain back in the early nineties. Being a university student has never been harder.
People say we’re being gouged. Ask them by whoom, and they can’t answer. However, what is overlooked is that while tuition has increased, it has matched the inflating cost of running such institutions. It costs more to run universities these days. Why? Now that’s the million dollar question.
What I can tell you is that I’m frustrated at the lack of productivity that arises from oversimplifications of “students vs. big bad ________.” There are economic dynamics at play here that are far more complex, and that are not properly exposed to the general populace. It is these that we must understand, in order to enact the small shifts necessary to better the situation. Or at least understand how good the situation already is.
But no. People will instead focus on the path of least resistance, which is to banter and banter until the powers that be themselves react to the situation. That said, given the recent hikes in tuition, there’s not much promise there. It’s deceptive really, because the idea of making small changes to a complex dynamic is much more implementable than trying to influence the entire dynamic alltogether.
Seeing how Quebec manages to maintain their low tuitions seems like a good start.