Toronto, Nov. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, York University students are holding a 1-Day Student Strike to call on York University and the Ontario Government to uphold students' right to organize and improve access to post-secondary education.
The York Federation of Students (YFS), representing over 50,000 undergraduate students at York University, are joined by students’ unions across the province who are taking action on their own campuses to fight cuts to post-secondary education.
“Government funding for post-secondary education continues to decline and costs are increasingly downloaded onto students through rising tuition fees and high interest loans,'' said Jasmine Hawamdeh on behalf of the YFS. “We are calling on our Premier Doug Ford and York University President Rhonda Lenton to start to act in the best interests of students and to work towards the elimination of tuition fees for all”.
Over 10,000 York students have signed petitions calling for the elimination of tuition fees, an increase in public funding for public education and improving access to, and the quality of post-secondary education. This 1-Day Student Strike is a response to the major cuts to Ontario post-secondary students including a $670 million dollar cut to the OSAP program and the introduction of the undemocratic “Student Choice Initiative” policy. Hawamdeh said, “these cuts to our education are an attempt to further privatize our colleges and universities and defund our student organizations. As students we are pushing back and resisting these changes for current and future students.”.
The York Federation of Students represents over 50,000 undergraduate students at York University.
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