OTTAWA--Students reject recommendations released yesterday by the Education Policy Institute that include higher tuition fees and reduced teaching resources. As the Obama administration makes record investments in higher education, the U.S.-based EPI is recommending that Canadian students and their families should take on a greater debt burden.

"This recession was, in part, caused by massive consumer debt. Average families simply can't afford to pay more for public education," said Katherine Giroux-Bougard, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "Families need tuition fee relief. Economic recovery will no doubt rely on affordable education and re-training."

The report released yesterday by the Education Policy Institute recommends that, despite Canada's deep recession and unprecedented job losses, protection from tuition fee increases should be removed to let institutions generate more revenue.

Over the past 10 years, Canadian tuition fees have increased at double the rate of inflation while wages have stagnated. In January, student loans owed to the federal government alone passed $13 billion and continues to increase at more than $1 million per day.

"The Obama administration has committed to massive investments in post-secondary education. In Canada, we must follow suit and make high-quality, accessible education one of our top priorities," said Giroux-Bougard. "As an American consulting firm, we hoped EPI could bring us the best of U.S. policy, not the worst."

EPI's recommendations would also undermine the quality of education by clearing out tenured professors in favour of teachers with less research and classroom experience.The Canadian Federation of Students is Canada's largest students' organisation. It is composed of more than 80 university and college students' unions with a combined membership of over one-half million students.