Student advocates outraged as MUN uses money set for tuition reduction elsewhere

Memorial University says it will continue increasing the cost of tuition despite budget cuts being put on hold — which two student advocates say shows a continued lack of financial responsibility.

Rana Abuidris, the executive director of campaigns for MUN's student union, says the decision comes as students face heavy financial anxiety.

"Students are skipping meals. I know students are currently working three jobs to be able to afford the tuition costs right now," Abuidris told CBC Radio's On the Go. 

In a post on Memorial's Gazette on Tuesday, president Jennifer Lokash outlined parts of the 2025-26 budget approved by the board of regents. Part of the budget includes a one-time pause in a tuition reduction grant given to the school by the provincial government totalling $13.68-million.

The province has cut the fund yearly since 2022, when it was giving $68.4 million to the school to keep a tuition freeze in place.

A cut of about $14-million per year led to the end of the tuition freeze. Costs skyrocketed from $2,550 to $6,000 per year for Canadians and reached $20,000 for international students, along with an annual four per cent increase until 2026.

Lokash wrote that the $13.68-million aimed at tuition reduction was instead directed to "drive Memorial University's transformation to a more learner-centric, sustainable and efficient institution."

The school will use $3.9-million to contract teachers, while using the rest to enhance efforts on student recruitment and retention, business transformation efforts and critical technological improvements among other items, Lokash wrote.

Nicolas Keough, chair of the Canadian Federation of Students in Newfoundland and Labrador, said he had hoped the money would be used for its intended purpose.

"The grant that is made to offset tuition, the money should be going toward that," he said.

"This is not 'The money had to come from somewhere.' … That's what the operating grant is for."

Tuition should be as low as possible: Education Minister

Both Keough and Abuidris believe there was some support among the board of regents to move the freeze forward, but not enough.

It's the latest example of financial mismanagement from the university, Abuidris added, highlighted by a scathing report from the auditor general in January that showed years of infrastructure neglect and overspending.

"This was an opportunity for MUN to rebuild a relationship with the provincial government and rebuild their trust. And again, Memorial again have shown that they cannot be trusted with, like, money. Student's money. They're clearly not putting students as their main priority," Abuidris said.

Asked about the decision on Tuesday afternoon, Education Minister Bernard Davis said MUN is an autonomous organization that can do what it wants with the money it receives from government.

The province supports the school, Newfoundland and Labrador's only university, through more than $400 million, and accounts for about 70 per cent of the school's total operating grant.

However, Davis added he knows the financial struggles students are facing and tuition costs are challenging.

"I always would like to see as low a tuition as you possibly can for our students," Davis said.

"The decision about tuition sits with the university and the administration of the university. We give them a very high level of support. We've looked at some of the cost pressures ... and we gave them more money. But as I've said many, many times, it is up to the university to determine where and how they spend that money."

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