Northern College attracting more localsCollege and university students got a bit of good and a bit of bad out of the provincial budget, released on Thursday afternoon.

Northern College President Fred Gibbons spoke to three moves—two good…one bad—that the Liberals made.

The bad move was the decision to discontinue the Fiscal Health and Sustainability Fund in 11 of 24 colleges, which he says was “short-sighted.”

“For Northern College, (that funding) represented just a little under $500,000,” he said, adding the funding was meant to help colleges adjust to changing demographics and fewer students.

“This is a phenomena that’s worked it’s way through the elementary schools and the secondary schools and now is coming into colleges and universities.”

The good news was the government decided to make an additional investment into apprenticeship training.

Gibbons says it’s worth around $55-million and will fund equipment upgrades and the rest into a ‘per diem’ allowance fund for colleges to dip into.

There’s also changes coming to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

The government plans to cap student debt at $7,400 for a two-year term.

As well, those eligible will no longer see the value of their car deducted from their loan, which could mean thousands more dollars each year for some.

The government will also no longer limit how much students can earn during the school year without seeing their loans reduced.