安省减免学费政策增加华裔 社区升学率?

安省政府在最近出炉的2016年财政预算案中宣布将为低收入家庭的大学生提供学费资助，以帮助他们支付高等教育学费。该项新政覆盖面广阔，家庭年收入低于$5万元的学生将可享受免费高等教育，而家庭年收入在$8.3万元或以下的学生也可获得比当前更高的学费津贴。

 

The Ontario government recently announced in 2016 budget that it will offer tuition grant to college students in low income families to cover their education costs. The grant is large enough for families with income less than $50,000 to cover their tuition fees, and allows students from families with income of $83,000 or less to receive more money upfront than they currently get.

目前，这项新政策的出台实为安省政府为减缓天价学费对教育的冲击之举措。它旨在确保那些因为家境贫寒而上不起大学的安省学生也能享受到高等教育，令高昂学费不再成为学生求学深造的障碍。

The announcement is part of the government’s plan to eliminate sticker shock that deters many students from pursuing post-secondary education, as it intends to ensure that postsecondary education is accessible for those Ontario students who are unable to attend university due to financial difficulties.

 

但是该计划对安省具有华裔家庭背景的学生的大学升学率可能影响甚微。大量研究表明，加拿大拥有移民背景的学生在大学升学率方面已经显露出明显优势，而华裔学生的升学率更为喜人。

But the program may have little impact on the college enrollment rate among Ontario students from Chinese Canadian families. Numerous studies indicate that students in Canada with immigrant backgrounds have already displayed a significant advantage regarding university attendance, and that the university success story is strongest among ethnic Chinese. 

 

加拿大统计局社会政策专家Garnett Picot和Feng Hou所做的研究表明，在加拿大拥有移民背景的学生大学升学率几乎是父母都出生在加拿大的本土学生的两倍，同时华裔学生就读大学的可能性比父母都出生在加拿大的本土学生高出40个百分点。

A study by Garnett Picot and Feng Hou, social policy experts of Statistics Canada points out young Canadians with immigrant backgrounds are almost twice likely to go to university as students whose parents were born in Canada, and that students with Chinese origins are 40 percentage points more likely to attend university than those with Canadian-born parents.

 

但是，移民的经济状况往往比土生加拿大人糟糕。统计数据还显示，第一代移民的收入水平远低于土生加拿大人。很显然，有许多华裔大学生都是来自低收入家庭。但是对于秉承中国传统文化，一向重视教育的华裔父母来说，子女的教育常常被视为重中之重。事实上，加国大部分华裔家庭绝不会因为家庭经济状况而阻碍其子女追求高等教育。

But immigrants generally worse off financially than their Canadian born counterparts. Stats also show that first generation immigrants’ income level is lower than those born in Canada. Needless to say, many university students with Chinese origins are from low-income families. But in a culture where value of education is deeply embedded in, education attainment is often considered top priority for Chinese parents. The fact is that the majority of Chinese families in Canada would never allow their financial circumstances to deter their children from pursuing post-secondary education. 

 

传统上，华裔家庭总会竭尽所能并不惜任何经济代价确保子女获得优质教育，获得高学历。华裔父母深知教育对子女的未来发展至关重要，因为教育可以改进其子女的经济地位，让他们在加国乐享高品质生活。许多华裔父母选择移民加拿大的理由很简单，就是为了让子女获得更好的教育。

Traditionally, Chinese families would exhaust all avenues and make any financial sacrifices to ensure their children can obtain quality education and achieve high academically. Chinese parents understand that education plays a significant role in their children’s future. It can improve their children’s economic mobility, allowing them to enjoy a quality of life in Canada. Many of them choose to immigrate to Canada for a simple reason – a better education opportunity for their children. 

 

我有一个朋友是一位50多岁的单亲母亲，她在加国靠打零工维生，日子一直过得紧紧巴巴。但是尽管生活困顿，她仍一心一意地支持女儿上大学。在她女儿拿到多伦多一所名牌大学的录取通知书后，她非常高兴，并立即拿出所有积蓄帮女儿支付每年超过$1万元的大学学费。

One of my friends, a single mother in her late 50s, takes odd jobs and lives in poverty in Canada. But despite her hardship, she has made up of her mind to support her daughter’s university education. After her daughter got admitted to a prestigious university program in Toronto, she was thrilled, and pulled out all of her life savings to help her daughter pay for the tuition, which costs over $10,000 every year. 

 

我的另一个朋友一直在多伦多做苦工，他拼命赚钱支持儿子读完了四年大学。当他儿子终于在加国公司获得一份体面工作后，他不禁感叹自己所有的辛苦和牺牲都是值得的。

Another friend of mine takes manual labour jobs to support his son going through four-year university education in Toronto.  After his son got a decent job in corporate Canada, he said that all his hard work and sacrifices have proven worthwhile。

他发自肺腑的说：“像我们这样的移民家庭只能靠教育改变命运。”

“Education is a game changer for immigrant families like us,” he says.

 

安省的学费减免政策对于贫困家庭来说无疑是福音，但它并不会对华裔社区学生的大学升学率产生明显影响。因为无论政府是否提供学费减免，大部分华裔学生都会坚定地追求高等教育，这也是他们人生旅途中无可避免的人生的目标。

Apparently, Ontario’s education grant is a boon for students and families struggling financially, but it might not create significant changes in the enrollment rate for Chinese Canadian students. Education is what they are determined to pursue, and is an unavoidable cause in their life journey, regardless of government’s grants or not.