BUDGET LIMITS TUITION COSTS, IMPROVES POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION

More Training and Educational Opportunity for First Nations and Métis People

Saskatchewan's 2011-12 Budget will keep post-secondary education and training accessible and affordable to students by limiting the cost of post-secondary tuition while improving educational opportunities. It also provides significant investments in education and employment for First Nations and Métis people.

"More than ever, it is important to ensure that Saskatchewan people have an opportunity to contribute to and benefit from our province's economic growth," Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration Minister Rob Norris said. "Our budget brings us closer to that goal by fostering a dynamic post-secondary system for students, effective supports for labour market attachment for workers, increased settlement supports and a thriving research and innovation sector."

The budget provides more than $125 million to ensure post-secondary affordability and accessibility for Saskatchewan students. Those investments include:

• $24.6 million to limit tuition increases to an average of about three per cent at Saskatchewan's universities, SIAST and the Regional Colleges;
• $3 million for the new Saskatchewan Advantage Scholarship (for a total provincial investment in scholarships of $5 million); and
• $97.8 million in support for students through Student Loans, Scholarships, Grants, Bursaries, the Provincial Training Allowance, the Apprenticeship Training Allowance, the Skills Training Benefit and the Graduate Retention Program.

The budget also provides several investments to support increased education and employment opportunities for First Nations and Métis people, including:

• $7 million for Adult Basic Education and Provincial Training Allowance targeted to First Nations and Métis students;
• $2 million to establish a First Nations and Métis education and employment task force aimed at eliminating the education and employment gaps ($1.3 million from AEEI's budget); 
• Designated apprenticeship funding of $600,000 to improve outcomes for First Nations and Métis apprentices;
• $1 million for the International Centre for Northern Governance and Development at the University of Saskatchewan to help Northern students study, stay and succeed in their northern communities; and
• $600,000 for SIAST to enhance supports available to First Nations and Métis students to improve completion rates.

"We want to ensure First Nations and Métis people have every opportunity to succeed in the new Saskatchewan," Norris said. "First Nations and Métis people will play a key role in maintaining Saskatchewan's economic momentum now and in the years ahead."

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For more information, contact:

Chris Jones-Bonk
Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration
Regina
Phone: 306-798-3106