By paNOW

On-reserve schools in Sask. underfunded: report

Mar 26, 2013 | 10:02 AM

A report commissioned by the FSIN has found a severe lack of funding for on-reserve schools when compared to other schools in the province.

“According to our report today, we see figures any where from 40 to 50 per cent in terms of underfunded First Nations students’ tuition,” Bird said.

The report looked at 10 different on-reserve schools in the North Battleford area and found the average funding is $7,230 per child. For public schools in the same area, under the Living Sky School Division, that amount is $11,894. The difference is even larger when compared to francophone schools which get an average funding amount of $16,665 a child.

The report said the francophone school system in Saskatchewan is similar to on-reserve schools with an effort to promote language and culture.

However, Bird noted the funding is very different.

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“Language and culture needs to be the priority. If our francophone brothers and sisters are able to get that kind of funding … why not have that kind of a resource from the federal government to be able to invest in our youth,” he said.

Bob Kowalchuk, the author of the report, said the funding difference was also apparent in instructional resources such as books and computers. The on-reserve schools in the report only receive $41.18 per student for those expenses, compared to $688.62 per child in the Living Sky School Division.

“If you start off with two schools, two classrooms of kids, one have resources, one do not have resources, tell me where is the fairness in what you’re providing?” Kowalchuk said.

Kowalchuk estimated the federal government would have to at least double the amount of money given to on-reserve schools to bring them up to what provincial counterparts are getting.

Bird said although that is a significant portion of money, it could bring about savings in other areas.

“If we just leave things the way we are, we can expect disastrous amounts of social impacts and social costs,” Bird said, mentioning things like more people in prisons and unemployment.

“When you don’t invest in our First Nations youth and our aboriginal people, what tends to happen is that we have situations where we have to start asking people to come from around the world to fill in jobs where aboriginal people could do the same thing,” Bird said.

This is the third report commissioned by the FSIN looking at First Nations education. The final report will be released in mid-April.

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On Twitter: @princealbertnow