Budget short on education funds: First Nations - Yahoo! Canada News
While I generally agree that First Nations have gotten a raw deal in terms of funding for their school system I must say that an overhaul involving 200 million from the federal government is pretty respectable. Of course the Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Ron Evans stated that the immediate allocation of $30 million "warms my heart". I should hope so.
The article claims that the feds have made it possible for Aboriginal youth to get their post-secondary education fully funded for ten years. Then further into the article it reveals a long wait list for many Aboriginal students, some who have to go through university/college without funding. There are always exceptions to the rule and people still slip through the cracks of the education system and federal funding.
The mainstream school systems, public and Catholic do not have specific Aboriginal curriculums. There are instead "lesson units" where a teacher who is teaching a specific grade may opt to teach his or her class about Canada's Aboriginal people. All units generally run within a 3 - 6 week period depending on the complexity of the topic, available materials and amount of time the overall curriculum permits the class to study the topic during each term. Lessons involving different cultures is quite specific, however it offers teachers a choice amoung a number of cultures so Aboriginal curriculum may not enter into the equation at all.
That the Aboriginal community is in dire need of educational funding is indisputable. It remains to be seen how the funds will be used and when.
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