Contributed Bilan Arte, national deputy chairwoman of the Canadian Federation of Students.

This year’s federal budget is “disappointing” to post-secondary students, says the country’s largest student group.

The Canadian Federation of Students, which represents 60 universities and colleges, wants to see more dollars earmarked for grants to help pay school tuition upfront.

Bilan Arte, the federation’s deputy national chairwoman, said she was not surprised by the 2015 federal budget tabled on Tuesday.

“It just adds to a track record of inaction on student debt in this country,” she said.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced lower student loan criteria to help more people pay for school.

But Arte said upfront grants would prevent post-graduation debts.

“(Loans are) not going to help (students) get their foot in the door and … further finance their education,” she said. Instead, the interest rates on student loans are “actually going to force them to pay more for their education than their wealthier counterparts.”

The Canadian Federation of Students says students in Ontario and the Maritimes have debt loads averaging $28,000 at graduation, the highest in the country. Further, the youth unemployment rate was 13.9 per cent in January 2014, according to Statistics Canada.

“Education is no longer a luxury for the few or a privilege for the few. It is a necessity for us all,” said Arte. “We need to view post-secondary education as a public good that every single Canadian needs to have access to. There should be a standard of access from coast to coast and we lack a national strategy on that.”

However, post-secondary institutions are not totally left out of the 2015 federal budget. The government is investing $1.33 billion over six years, starting in 2017-2018, to support advanced research infrastructure at universities, colleges and research hospital.

– With files from the Toronto Star

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