In-Person Learning Returns and The Students Need Somewhere to Live
Students in Nova Scotia, Canada, are desperate to find housing in the province as the new school year begins. According to Victoria Gibbs, the student union president at the University of King’s College in Halifax, the situation is predominantly a result of rising rents and the ongoing housing shortage across the country.
Having worked at the school for four years, she says she has never seen the students experience challenges like this ever before. Halifax has long been known as a student city, and when Gibbs first began working at the school, it was less expensive to live off-campus. However, the increased lack of accessibility to affordable housing has left students paying upwards of $700 a month to live in shared accommodations with numerous roommates.
Most schools return to in-person learning this year after months of web-based classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many students might have to consider deferring their education until they can find somewhere nearby to live.
The University of King’s College in Halifax sent out an urgent request to alums last week requesting people to rent extra bedrooms or living spaces for students. The email from the dean of students claimed that the university’s on-campus housing is already full even after having converted many single rooms to doubles. Allegedly, there are still 15 first-year students on the wait list alongside 10 returning upper-year students.
The Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) also urges alums to rent extra rooms or pass along tips regarding apartment vacancies, especially in the Yarmouth, Kentville, and Truro areas. NSCC also has a waiting list for its three on-campus housing facilities. According to Chauncey Kennedy, the manager of housing and student life at NSCC, the school is temporarily considering adding more students into the buildings. Kennedy also said three new student housing projects are planned for Akerley, Ivany, and Pictou campuses. The provincial government will fund the projects, but they won’t be ready until 2024-25.
Too Expensive to Live in Nova Scotia
For more information on how the nationwide housing crisis is affecting students in Nova Scotia, go to CBC.ca:
“Another way universities could help would be to freeze or lower tuition costs, which have gone up in Nova Scotia during the pandemic, said Kris Reppas, the Nova Scotia chair for the Canadian Federation of Students.
Reppas said provincial legislation on rent control and a higher minimum wage would go a long way to helping students.
‘Some folks are having to then partake in unsafe living conditions where there's more folks living in a space than there should be,’ Reppas said.
Chauncey Kennedy, manager of housing and student life with NSCC, said he's seen student housing issues grow over the past few years into what is now a crisis.
‘It's not just an HRM issue. It is a province issue,’ Kennedy said Friday. ‘It's just being more expensive to live in Nova Scotia.’"
From Some Nova Scotia Students Facing 'Desperate' Situation Amid Housing Crisis - CBC
Photo Source: ELISA VENTUR via Unsplash
Do you know any students in Canada that are struggling to find housing for the upcoming school year?
Written by S2A Modular & Associates Inc.
August 12th, 2022