The BC government’s 2020 Budget has students and educators celebrating the introduction of an up-front, needs-based student grant program. The BC Access Grant is the first of its kind in BC in nearly two decades, and will help reduce student loan debt for thousands of British Columbians every year.

The BC government’s 2020 Budget has students and educators celebrating the introduction of an up-front, needs-based student grant program. The BC Access Grant is the first of its kind in BC in nearly two decades, and will help reduce student loan debt for thousands of British Columbians every year.

With the 2020 BC Budget just around the corner, students and their families are renewing their calls for the government to implement an up-front needs-based grant program to ease the burden of student loan debt. “BC has the lowest amount of non-repayable financial assistance – like grants – in Canada.”

As students across the province head to college and university campuses today, many of them will be thinking hard about their student loans. Without a student grant program in BC, debt is the only way half of all students and their families can afford to attend post-secondary education.

The Government of California has announced that it is providing two years of tuition fee free college for students graduating from California high schools. The initiative was approved with the recent passing of the state budget. Meanwhile in British Columbia, tuition fees continue to rise to historic levels, further strapping students with debt and closing the doors to those without the means to pay high up-front costs.

Following province-wide consultations, the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services reported that post-secondary education was the second-most discussed topic throughout the verbal, written, audio, and video submissions.