HALIFAX--The affordable, high-quality university education offered in Newfoundland is likely the reason that hundreds of students are leaving the Maritimes for Memorial University. In a study released today, The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission shows a dramatic 15% increase in students from the Maritime provinces studying in St. John's.

"High tuition fees continue to put university education out of the reach of many Maritime families," said Kaley Kennedy, Nova Scotia Representative of the Canadian Federation of Students. "It's no surprise that students are choosing to go to Newfoundland, where tuition fees are less than half of what students pay in the Maritimes."The study found that while university enrollments continue to fall across the Maritimes, enrollment of students from the Maritime Provinces at the Memorial University of Newfoundland have increased more than ten-fold since 1999. The study also reported that the number of students from Newfoundland studying in the Maritimes has dropped by 54% in the past 5 years, further contributing to declining enrollments across the Maritimes.

Since 2000, the Newfoundland and Labrador government has reduced tuition fees 25%. This fall, tuition fees at Memorial University are $2,633 per year, while students in Nova Scotia pay an average of $5,868 per year.

"Premiers in the Maritimes are actively contributing to out-migration by maintaining high tuition fees," said Kennedy. "The MacDonald government would be wise to consider the tuition fee policies that make Memorial University the institution of choice for hundreds of Nova Scotians."