Mixed Reviews For Native Education Savings Account

Mixed Reviews For Native Education Savings Account

Tuesday, June 08, 2010 at 15:03

 

 

An academic says he believes a plan to hand control of First Nations education over to students instead of bands is slowly gaining some traction in the country.

 

Calvin Helin claims a Compass opinion poll shows that 66 per cent of Canadians back the funding model he proposed with the support of the MacDonald Laurier Institute.

 

Under the terms of the plan, each First Nations child would get several hundred dollars a year until Grade 12.

 

They could then use the money to attend a recognized post-secondary institution.

 

Helin says since he pitched the idea a few months ago, some chiefs have complained the plan would rob First Nations of certain rights to self-government — namely, the right to control their own education.

 

It’s an argument Helin has trouble seeing, adding he doesn’t know of a greater form of self-government then to give individual band members the money themselves.

 

A Conservative Senator is applauding the proposed plan.

 

Patrick Brazeau says he believes the plan would be a more accountable way of distributing education money on reserves than the present system.

 

However, Brazeau is not sure whether or not the Conservative government will decide to adopt it.