U of R students rally to 'freeze the fees' on international tuition costs

Students at the University of Regina are calling on the school and provincial government to “freeze the fees” on international student tuition.

Harshkumar Patel, with the University of Regina Students Union, moved from India to Regina in 2019 to attend the university. He said when he started his tuition fees were $18,000.

“The fees since then have gone up 25 per cent, and that’s just in two years,” Patel said.

According to the University of Regina Students Union, international undergraduate students pay almost $21,000 - $22,000 in tuition fees, while Canadian students pay just over $7,000.

Tuition costs for Canadian students compared to those from abroad. (CTVNewsRegina)

Patel said those costs don’t include rent, food or other bills.

He said being an international student also means he can’t get a full time job to help pay for his bills.

“With the Canadian government we are only allowed to work 20 hours (per week) and nothing more. If we work more than that we are deported back to our country,” Patel said. “It makes it very tough.”

He said the only way he can pay for both school and bills, is to take out a student loan and work as much as he legally can.

The University of Regina Faculty Association participated in the rally Wednesday, saying it’s a disgrace there is such a radical difference between international and domestic students.

“We really understand public education as a foundation to democratic societies. We are in this struggle with you. We want our universities to be accessible, ideally free for all,” Emily Eaton, with the faculty association, said.

In a statement to CTV News, the University of Regina said it appreciates the support and engagement to make the school more accessible.

“While we may not be financially able to respond in a way that addresses their specific concerns in this case, we recognize they are expressing the experiences of many international students and we will do our best to mitigate, given our financial capacity,” the university said.

The statement goes on to say the university is currently working on its 2022-23 budget, which will indicate tuition costs, adding the school predicts the 2021-22 fiscal year will see a $16 million shortfall. It adds funding from the provincial government is also frozen at current levels. It said this means “the university is looking at all avenues of generating revenue and reducing costs, without unnecessarily impacting the student experience, to develop a balanced budget for 2022-23.

The provincial government said international student fees in Saskatchewan are the lowest in the country. A statement to CTV News said.

“In 2021-22 Saskatchewan international students paid on average $22,197 in tuition compared to the national average of $33,623,” the province said.

It added the province contributed $735.1 million to support post-secondary education in the province, $102.5 million in direct support to students through tax credits, grants and scholarships.

Patel said Wednesday’s rally and march through the University is the first step to change, adding the “freeze the fees” protest will continue, with the student union bringing a petition to the spring sitting of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.