Secondary school students have abandoned their classrooms and taken to the picket line.
Following Tuesday’s protest in Market Square, students gathered outside Eastside Secondary School in opposition to Premier Doug Ford’s cuts to OSAP grant funding. The crowd of close to 75 students occupied both sides of Farley Ave.
Tabitha Bentley, student and protest organizer, said that many students are reliant on grants and scholarships to fund their post-secondary education.
“I am someone who is fully dependent on OSAP to help me get through school. I know most of my fellow students are in the same position,” said Bentley. “Most of us work, most of us have parents who work, but not all of us are in a situation where our parents can fund our entire education.”
Premier Ford recently slashed the amount of grant funding available to OSAP applicants. While previously grants could be up to 85% of a student’s funding, that has been reduced to 25%, with the rest being loans.
