Students from wealthy families are 50 per cent more likely to attend university compared to students from middle or low income families, according to a recent report from Statistics Canada.

This trend has increased each year from 1986 and 1998, which student leaders say is a clear sign students must become involved in shaping education policy or risk losing accessibility for future generations.

“Universities in Ontario are fast becoming playgrounds for the rich,” said Joel Duff, Ontario Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students.

A key concern is graduate and professional programs, which unlike undergraduate programs are not protected by government regulations preventing fees from being increased at more than two per cent per year.

Tuition in the medicine program at U of T, for instance, has risen from $4,850 at the start of 1997 to $14,700 today.

U of T has remained more accessible to lower income families than other schools, according to the administration.

“No university is more concerned about access than we are, and no student admitted to U of T will be denied because of their economic situation” said Sheldon Levy, U of T’s vice president of government and institutional relations. “We want to help any student in economic difficulty.”

While U of T hasn’t openly been pushing for deregulation, it does believe tuition fees should increase at the rate of inflation. Levy pegs this amount at roughly five per cent. He admits the hefty cost of a university education may discourage some students from attending.

“That’s why we include the information on our financial aid packages—we want people to always see both sides.”

Duff refuses to accept this rationale.

“Increasing tuition fees should not be the reason for increasing student subsidies. One cancels the other out.”

Alex Kerner, president of the Students’ Administrative Council, said the best way for students to get this message across is to come out and support the National Student Day of Action on February 6.

“Students at U of T have got to let this administration and the province know that the tuition situation in Ontario is incredibly desperate.”

The CFS called the February 6 protest. “Students have to lobby the university administrators to take a more active role for equality in education.”