The issue regarding the financing amounts in First Nation schools generally raises questions over the topic of regional funding for Aboriginal education. Nevertheless, a crucial concern in developing policies is the availability of funding to support projects and initiatives. School-age students of Indigenous descent must obtain increased support from the Ministry of Education and Child Care. Increased financing offers culturally competent educational initiatives and resources to aid Indigenous children’s academic progress. This policy is a component of a wider framework of policies to enhance Indigenous students’ academic success. Therefore, the issue of indigenous education and its funding is important to the Ministry of Education, which is why it necessitated the establishment of indigenous preschools and investments in school equipment, language and culture programs, and transportation.
First, indigenous education children participating full-time in a preschool program are supported as one equivalency following the establishment of Full Day Kindergarten for all children. Indigenous communities will be consulted by school boards when creating and implementing full-day preschool initiatives (British Columbia, n.d.). Second, the progress made in 2017 and 2018 resulted in a number of significant new initiatives. More than $1.5 million, $4 million, and almost $2 million in one-time cash pledges were made by Canada for public transport purchases for indigenous children (FNESC, 2018). This was performed along with new computers and school network enhancements.
However, the Ministry will continue providing communities with more investments. Furthermore, from 2018 to 2023, almost $12 million will be allocated to keep indigenous schools connected (FNESC, 2018). Through the updated British Columbia Tripartite Education Agreement, Canada additionally pledged to contribute a further $20 million yearly to indigenous education, owing to the assistance of British Columbia First Nations Leadership (BCTEA) (FNESC, 2018). The $20 million funding will go toward language and culture programming at schools, as affirmed by the congregation and school officials in 2018, in addition to increasing funds for transportation, transport investment, and vocational training in schools (FNESC, 2018). Therefore, the Ministry of Education incorporates a holistic approach to the funding of indigenous education, incorporating investments for preschool programs, transportation, equipment, and cultural programs.
References
British Columbia. (n.d.). K-12 funding – Indigenous education. Web.
FNESC. (2018). Supporting First Nations education in BC. Web.