OTTAWA--Statistics Canada is currently under-equipped to deal with the growing need of the post-secondary education sector, says the Canadian Federation of Students. With today's news of the wind-up of the Canada Council on Learning, students fear that there is not enough data collection and analysis to pave the way for building a high-quality, affordable post-secondary education system in Canada.

"Although Statistics Canada plays a critical role in collecting and analyzing data about universities and colleges, it requires more support from the federal government to do its job", said Katherine Giroux-Bougard, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students.

International reports on post-secondary education and research, including those released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, have found that Canada fails to collect data in a number of important areas.

In October 2009, the Canadian Federation of Students released a policy paper titled the Education Action Plan, which included a proposal for a $10 million funding increase to Statistics Canada's Centre for Education Statistics.

"Independent research and evaluation is essential for effective decision-making and planning for Canada's post-secondary education system," added Giroux-Bougard. "Statistics Canada has an international reputation for quality data collection. The federal government would be wise to rely more heavily on it."

Founded in 1981, the Canadian Federation of Students is Canada's largest student organisation, uniting more that one-half million students from ten provinces.