The provincial government is working with Aboriginal Institutes to give more Indigenous students access to culturally appropriate postsecondary education and training opportunities across the province.
Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development Deb Matthews announced the new initiative in early-June.
Ontario is providing more support for Aboriginal Institutes to help them expand their capacity as a distinct and complementary pillar of Ontario's postsecondary education system. Aboriginal institutes partner with colleges and universities to offer degree programs, apprenticeship programs, certificate programs, and diplomas in culturally appropriate and safe learning environments. (St. Clair is associated with the Anishinabek Educational Institute in Muncey-Delaware near London.)
Many Indigenous students face unique financial and other barriers to postsecondary education and training. Ontario is working with its Indigenous partners to implement an Indigenous Education Strategy to increase Indigenous peoples' access, participation and success in postsecondary education and training.
Improving outcomes for Indigenous learners in postsecondary education and training is one of the many steps on Ontario's journey of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. As part of “The Journey Together: Ontario's Commitment to Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples”, this initiative reflects the government's commitment to work with Indigenous partners, creating a better future for everyone in the province.
Matthews said, "Aboriginal Institutes in Ontario offer important pathways for Indigenous learners to successfully advance their educational and career goals in culturally appropriate and safe learning environments that are close to home and run and governed by Indigenous communities. Aboriginal Institutes and the Ontario government are jointly committed to recognizing Aboriginal Institutes as full partners within the Ontario postsecondary education system, and we are working together to achieve this transformative change."
Over the next three years, Ontario will invest $56 million in Aboriginal Institutes to help them expand their capacity. With that new funding, the provincial government’s investment in such schools has quadrupled since 2014-15.
