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A tuition and fee freeze at Alberta’s public post-secondary institutes will continue into a fourth year, with the government committing up to $17 million in backfill payments to compensate for the inability of universities and colleges to raise more tuition revenue.

Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt said Thursday the freeze applies to 20 public post-secondary institutions and will apply to apprenticeship tuition.

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It will not apply to six private institutions.

Existing mandatory non-instructional fees will also continue to be frozen at all 26 post-secondary institutions and no new fees can be introduced or implemented in 2018-19.

International student tuition will again not be covered in the freeze and that is a major concern for many student groups across the province.

Following a similar announcement in October 2016, in which universities didn’t receive backfill, the University of Alberta and MacEwan University both increased international fees.