Photo credit: now Toronto
Premier Doug Ford of Ontario has advised students not to “pick basket-weaving courses” and to invest in education that gives people in-demand values.
CBC News reports that Ford said in the wake of students expressing concerns over recent cuts to the Ontario Students Assistance Program (OSAP).
While speaking at Queen’s Park, Ford said he received “thousands of calls” from students over the long weekend. According to him, the students expressed concerns about the province cutting the amount of grant money students can receive through OSAP.
“I mentioned to the students, you have to invest in your future, into in-demand jobs,” he said.
“You’re picking basket-weaving courses, and there’s not too many baskets being sold out there.”
The changes to OSAP were announced by Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities Nolan Quinn last week. Starting this fall, the amount of money eligible students can receive in the form of OSAP grants will decrease from a maximum of 85 per cent to 25 per cent.
That change has sparked worry among many incoming and current students, who say it will strain their finances and put them in more debt after graduation.
Ford said taxpayers want to know that the courses students are picking – and that they’re applying for – are going to help an in-demand jobs sector in the province. He mentioned trades, healthcare and STEM-related fields as those that would provide jobs to graduates.
He acknowledged that students are “probably upset right now,” but also said he’s heard some “nightmare stories” about kids going out and “buying fancy watches and7 cologne,” supposedly alluding to students misusing their OSAP money.
Omar Nusir, a second-year student at western University called Ford’s comments “shocking.”
“In-demand fields are higher in cost,” said Nusir, who wants to go to medical school and become a diagnostic radiologist. When he looked at tuition fees at Western for medical school, he said tuition was north of $20,000 a year.
“If I listen to Doug Ford’s advice about choosing in-demand fields, I am actually (going) farther into debt,” he said.
