Program to get more Métis into university

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/11/2019 (1623 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Metis Federation has launched a new program aimed at getting more Métis students to graduate from university.

The post-secondary education support program, which is the federation’s largest investment in post-secondary education, offers grants to students interested in taking college or university courses. It will be paid for by new funding from the federal government.

“For me, the biggest takeaway from this is it’s going to open thousands of opportunities for Métis students today,” said president David Chartrand.

“We’re going to have graduates and graduates and graduates and more graduates.”

The online application portal opened on Friday and had one applicant before the news conference ended, organizers said.

Joan Ledoux, the federation’s provincial education minister, explained that historically Métis people have been more likely to enter the workforce after high school than attend post-secondary for a variety of reasons, including financial barriers.

About 16 per cent of Métis people in Manitoba have university degrees compared with 31 per cent of non-Indigenous people, she said.

“So our goal is to close that gap by half in the coming decade,” Ledoux said.

Last year, the federation gave post-secondary funding to about 700 students. It expects to support 1,000 more this year, starting in the winter 2020 term.

Chartrand said he expects each student will be able to access up to $5,000 each this year, and up to $10,000 in subsequent years.

Métis students are encouraged to reapply each year for more funding, which they can put toward courses, books, housing, child care or anything that supports their post-secondary education.

Annettee Trimbee, president of the University of Winnipeg, said having the flexibility to spend grant money is important so students who come from various backgrounds — rural or urban, single or with kids — can access education.

“I think it’s great that this will allow more choice. I highly value all post-secondary credentials and I do think it’s important that they expand their support to students who want to do university degrees as well as graduate degrees, because I would like to see more Métis students with PhDs,” said Trimbee.

Friday’s announcement is part of the federation’s 10-year post-secondary education accord. It’s financed with some of the close to $90 million promised to the federation over the next 10 years from the federal government. It promised another $9.9 million per year after that.

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu