Newfoundland Replaces Student Loans With Grants

Newfoundland is ahead of the game, making sure its students are debt-free.

Aside from having Canada’s best accent, Newfoundlanders have yet another reason to be proud.

Effective this month, post-secondary students in the province of Newfoundland, will no longer graduate with crippling financial debt. Eliminating its loan system in favor of grants, the provincial government is virtually eliminating student debt for new university and college students.

These newer grants will be released in similar fashion to the previous system, but instead, have graduates venture off into the world without the fear and stress of being in arrears. By estimate, the current loans most students receive today, barely covers 40 percent of their costs, and recipients are required to start paying off them off shortly after graduation.

The move was welcomed by Travis Perry, the chairman of Canadian Student Federation. Speaking to the CBC, Perry supported the change, citing a better ableness for new graduates to contribute to a working society, without the stress and drawback of clearing their debt.

The initiative will cost the PC Government more than $50,000,000 in the next 5 years, and will make 7000 students eligible for the funding. Hopefully, this will start a new trend in the country and we’ll see more and more educated and debt-free Canadian scholars and working professionals in the near future.

For more information on the new change in funding, check out the provincial government's website.

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