Barriers to Higher Education in Toronto Using Data from the Toronto Vital Signs Report
Photo by Ali Tayyebi on Unsplash
Photo par Ali Tayyebi sur Unsplash
Landon Apollo Leone
(FR) Le rapport Signes vitaux de Toronto identifie les tendances et les problèmes qui affectent la qualité de vie d’environ 2,7 millions de personnes qui demeurent à Toronto. Se concentrant sur la partie du rapport qui traite de l’éducation, cet article traite des plusieurs inégalités qui existent au sein de et entre différents groupes du corps étudiant de Toronto. Les étudiants immigrants, racisées, et internationaux ont tous de nombreux obstacles différents dans tous les niveaux d’éducation, qui doivent être abordés. Pour donner suite à ce problème, plusieurs gouvernements et programmes financés par le public qui tentent d’affronter ces obstacles et d’offrir du soutien aux étudiants affectés et à leurs familles, sont soulignés. En offrant du soutien et de l’expertise aux étudiants affectés et à leurs familles, tous les niveaux du gouvernement canadien, aux côtés de nombreuses ONG et associations caritatives, continuent de lutter dans le but d’effacer les écarts créés par les inégalités auxquelles les citoyens dans les villes globales et mégapoles, telles que Toronto, font face.
The Toronto Vital Signs Report identifies trends and issues affecting the quality of life for the 2.7 million citizens that call Toronto home. Focusing on the segment of the report that covers education, this paper discusses the various inequalities that exist among different groups that compose Toronto’s student body. The numerous barriers in all levels of education that immigrant, racialized, and international students face must be addressed. To combat this, multiple different government and publicly-sponsored programs are highlighted in their attempts to reduce these obstacles and provide support to affected students and their families.
The Toronto Vital Signs Report claims that the city of Toronto grew by over 77,000 people in 2019, which is “nearly as much as the four fastest-growing cities in the United States combined” (“Toronto's Vital Signs Report”, 2019, p. 10). Much of this influx of new Torontonians is made up of international students, with the number of international students studying and living in Toronto having increased by over 70,000 since 2015 (ibid, p. 106). This is in light of the fact that 4 in 10 international students are being turned away by Canadian immigration officials each year (Toughill, 2019). With the arrival of these new students, Toronto is granted a wealth of bright young minds with diverse backgrounds, making it one of the most innovative cities in the world (Leskin, 2019). Furthermore, the report states that 25% of international students in Canada eventually immigrate back to Canada permanently later in life (“Toronto Vital Signs Report”, 2019, p. 106). Since these students may well be working in and contributing to the Canadian economy later in life, it is in the best interest of the entire nation that international students in Toronto are not barred from institutions of higher education.
Louis Wirth argued back in 1938 that “a serviceable definition of urbanism” must take into account the “specific characteristics of a city,” such as the types of industries that are represented (Wirth, 1938). Toronto is a hub for higher-education, home to four publicly funded universities alongside a host of colleges and trades schools, ensuring that the educational industry is, in line with Wirth’s definition, a major part of Toronto’s urban space. Additionally, Toronto is considered both a Global City and a Mega-Region. Saskia Sassen argues that globalization – being the increased mobility of people, information, technology, and capital – has led to the rise of the Global City. She describes these cities as becoming “increasingly disconnected from their broader hinterlands” or even from the nations to which they belong (Sassen, 2005, p. 30). Richard Florida contends that devolving power from nation states to cities will make urbanism more inclusive and democratic. He defines “winner-takes-all urbanism” as a small share of advantaged elites sharing the benefits of globalized urbanism, leaving the majority of people behind (Florida, 2018). Florida emphasizes that cities are a nexus of growth and innovation, but also of inequalities leading to class conflict (ibid, 2018).
Both Sassen’s Global City framework and Florida’s Mega-Region description maintain that a city like Toronto is ripe with inequality. In terms of education, high school graduation rates and college and university enrollments are both at all-time highs (“Toronto’s Vital Signs Report”, 2019, p. 102). Nevertheless, students in low-income families are three times as likely to drop out of high school as those in high-income families, only 61% of students in one-parent families attend post-secondary school, and racialized students are still less likely to obtain a college or university degree (ibid, p. 103). For new immigrants to Canada, many of these inequalities are even more pronounced. Toronto is one of the best-educated cities in Canada, with Canada being the most educated country in the world (ibid, p. 100). According to the report, although “most immigrants [. . .] are more educated than the typical Canadian, [. . .] many end up living in poverty,” with “40% of recent immigrants with a bachelor’s degree [. . .] working in jobs that require a high-school education or less” (ibid, p. 107). 71% of jobs in Canada require post-secondary education, but too many of these jobs are inaccessible to educated Canadian immigrants (Prosper Canada, n.d.). It is imperative that policy-makers and Non-Governmental Organizations continue to break down barriers created by the inequalities that citizens in Global Cities and Mega-Regions like Toronto face.
One of the most glaring barriers to higher education throughout North America is the cost of tuition and the ensuing accumulation of debt. Statistics Canada states that the average price of undergraduate tuition in Ontario rose from just over $5,000 a decade ago to well over $8,000 currently, double the rate of inflation (“Toronto Vital Signs Report”, 2019, p. 105). RBC economic research shows that 20% of undergraduate students graduate with $25,000 in student loan debt or more which, coupled with rising housing and rent costs, is putting a strain on the mental health of students (Walsh, 2018). Still, post-secondary enrollment figures are up 8% in the past five years (“Toronto Vital Signs Report”, 2019, p. 103). In an ever-competitive work force, students are growing up with the stress of believing they must get a post-secondary degree in order to obtain a well-paying, secure job. This has “helped the post-secondary education sector grow faster than the overall economy [in Canada] for the past decade” (Walsh, 2018). Unfortunately, the Provincial Conservative government’s decision to eliminate free tuition for low-income families guarantees that enrollment among low-income groups will remain truncated, and that student debt will remain high (The Canadian Press, 2019).
To combat these barriers to education, programs exist to remedy the challenges faced by these various marginalized groups. In an effort to combat the mental health crisis currently affecting students at the University of Toronto, students, parents, and faculty demand suicide prevention measures and mental health initiatives (Draaisma et. al., 2019). To make post-secondary education more attainable for Canadian families, the Federal Government of Canada offers the Canada Learning Bond, payed into the Registered Education Savings Plans of children in low-income families (“Toronto Vital Signs Report”, 2019, p. 104). These bonds contribute up to $2,000 per child towards university, college, trades school or various apprenticeship programs (Social Development Canada, 2019). Other non-governmental organizations, such as Prosper Canada, work to educate families about filing taxes, asset-building, budgets, and savings (Prosper Canada, n.d.). Unfortunately, these social service programs are often under-promoted and usually involve complicated application processes. For example, only 32% of eligible low-income families used the Canada Learning Bond benefit in 2014, which contributed to a whopping $1 billion in social benefits going unclaimed last year in Toronto alone (“Toronto Vital Signs Report”, 2019, p. 30). Pressure must be continually applied to all levels of government to ensure that these programs continue to receive funding. Steps should also be taken to better promote these programs to their targeted demographics so that less financial aid and social support goes unclaimed in Toronto each year.
In conclusion, immigrant, racialized, and international students all have different barriers at every level of education in Toronto. Multiple different government and publicly-sponsored programs exist to remedy the challenges faced by these groups. By providing support and expertise to affected students and their families, all levels of Canadian government, alongside many NGO’s and charities, continue to fight to close the educational gaps created by the inequalities that citizens in Global Cities and Mega-Regions like Toronto face.