In a recent petition circulated by the College Student Alliance in Ontario, 26,599 students signed saying they weren't opposed to a tuition hike so long as the value of their education also goes up.
The petition campaign was a two-week event run at 22 college campuses across the province. The results were announced Wednesday at a media conference in Toronto. A similar campaign organized by the Undergraduate Student Alliance has also been active at Ontario universities.
"The premier and the minister made it equivocally clear that the tuition freeze would not be extended. They ran on a platform of a two-year freeze and fulfilled that commitment," said Tyler Charlebois, director of advocacy with the College Student Alliance.
"They're (students) asking for higher quality education, more accessibility, increased accountability and they want to make sure that when they graduate, there's going to be jobs out there."
Charlebois said the government hadn't yet responded to the petition but that any increase would be reasonable and would be accompanied by increased financial aid. The government is expected to announce its plans for tuition in January.
