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Former foster children are flocking to college and university after the B.C. government waived their tuition fees last year, statistics show.

The number of former children in care taking advantage of the free-tuition program has more than tripled in a year, the Ministry of Advanced Education reports.

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A total of 687 former children in care are benefiting from the waivers at 25 institutions. That’s compared with 189 students who received free tuition at 11 colleges and universities before the government expanded the program provincewide in 2017.

“It’s exactly what we were hoping the program would do,” Advanced Education Minister Melanie Mark told the Victoria Times Colonist.

“Our goal was to open doors, and young people are walking through them. They’re training to be social workers, teachers, doctors. They’re stepping up to get involved in the trades.”

Mark, herself a former child in care who went on to get a degree, said people often underestimate the capacity of youth in care.