A new report says First Nations children in Saskatchewan are being shortchanged when it comes to early childhood education.
The report is called First Nations Early Childhood Program: Improving Outcomes and it says under funding is the cause of inadequately trained early childcare staff and is affecting the ability of First Nations to provide proper early childhood educational assessment.
The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations commissioned the report and Vice-Chief Simon Bird says the organization is not only looking for the federal government but also the province to fill in some of the funding gaps.
“The Premier has acknowledged himself that First Nations schools are under funded,” he says. “Now, what is the provincial government going to do to make sure it provides the tools, the much needed tools, in our First Nations schools on First Nations?”
The report is written by Shirley Kraus and it says investment in early childhood education greatly improves outcomes
This is the second report in a series that the FSIN has released on improving education for First Nations people.