Funding for First Nations education and the high dropout rate of First Nations students is on the minds of provincial candidates in the Saskatchewan election campaign.
Over the weekend, the NDP raised the stakes promising about $117 million in First Nations education funding if they are elected.
A big chunk of that money – $80 million – is to make up for the funding gap between First Nations and non-First Nations students in the province.
NDP leader Cam Broten says his party would increase the funding in the next budget, then bill the federal government for the money.
The FSIN says the funding gap is about 40 per cent, or more than $4,600, per student. There are about 19,000 on-reserve students in Saskatchewan.
In 2013, Stats Canada estimated the per-student federal funding at about $14,000 compared to about $13,000 for students in the provincial system. However, those numbers are disputed by aboriginal groups.
In the last Saskatchewan budget, the province spent about $51 million on aboriginal education and training initiatives.
We will get a look at how much the federal government plans to commit when it delivers its first budget on Monday, March 22.
It has promised to substantially increase funding for First Nations education. The total price tag has been pegged at $2.6 billion.
While both federal and provincial governments have increased spending for aboriginal students over the years, the success rate of First Nations students lags far behind the provincial average.
In a 2014 report by the provincial auditor, the graduation rate for aboriginal students was about 40 per cent, compared to 82 per cent for non-aboriginal students.
The Sask. Party is promising to close that gap by 50 per cent by the year 2020. The NDP wants to close it further, faster.