VANCOUVER--The biggest financial barrier to education only got bigger this year in BC. Tuition fees have climbed over $4,800 at BC universities, according to a new study released today by Statistics Canada. For the tenth consecutive year tuition fees in British Columbia will increase.

"Recent polling shows overwhelming support for reducing tuition fees, but the BC government isn't listening," said Zach Crispin, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia. "Post-secondary education in BC is a debt sentence." Average student debt in British Columbia is estimated to be over $27,000 after a four year program, the highest provincial average West of the Maritimes. With compound interest over a ten-year repayment period, that figure balloons to $34,000.

"A system of student loans places an unfair burden on low income and marginalized students by making them pay more for their education. This underscores the pressing need to restore the BC grants program," said Crispin.

Tuition fees are the single largest expense for most university and college students, and are increasing more than any other cost faced by students, having more than doubled since 2001. Higher tuition fees means more money out of pocket for working families in British Columbia.

More information is available at http://bit.ly/pRfD11

August 2011 polling on education issues in BC can be found at http://db.tt/QCuWLD7

The Canadian Federation of Students-BC is composed of 150,000 students in British Columbia from 17 university and college students' unions. Post-secondary students in Canada have been represented by the Canadian Federation of Students and its predecessor organizations since 1927.