FROM COVER STORY E- authorized t reasury ara in nai was .provided on an ad hoc basis and those who applied _ for financial assistance received it. At that time, how- ever, very few native students went on to post-secondary studies. - ¢€ se of the E- ircular w State the policy ST-DIAND- reganiine poet “secondaty ~~ edacatiomal aecistanceTor Haine “and-thuit. The program was igned to encourage Reg- istered Canadian Indians and Inuit to acquire university and professional qualifications, so that they become economi- cally self-sufficient and may realize their individual poten- tials for contributions to the Indian community and.Cana- dian Society.” Since the institution of the PSEAP, however, a critical difference has emerged between the First Nations’ and the federal government’s interpretations of the respon- sibility of the federal govern- ment for the post-secondary education of status Indians. . According to the Assembly of First Nations, post- ter of mght, whether it ty abonginal nght eNaUTTary trust ay of t governmeng. The position of the First Nations originates from promises in treaties for ‘‘edy- * cation”’ for aboriginal peoples -. promises which did not specify whether education meant elementary, secondary, as well as post-secondary education. The federal government bases its position towards post-secondary education on the Indian Act, which makes Only on-reserve education -year- a } > government Tesponsibility. The Wielsen Reparifof 1985, which examined through study teams government programs in Operation at the time the present government came into power, says that {ull assistance to status Indians is not a sta Onstitutional responsjbiliry. It appears that the differ- _ CAUT protests govt. cap on native funding Enrolment in the program ence between the First has grown from approxi- Nations’ and federal govern. mately 3,500 in 1977 to ment’s positions has only approximately 12,000 in 1987. recently been recognized According to DIAND, there within the government. are gpa a ates each year, and the aver- Pend - gb age annual cost per student is saci PeNNi dovslopinent approximately $7,800. The of more imporignce tan post- Program's budget has grown hee rom approximately $8 million srcpneaty Proptams or 10 approximately $94 million team recommended that direct in the last ten years. federal support to Indian stu- The DIAND figures for tive until on or about the Ist day of November."* One col- lege received notification on November 13, and some did nol receive notification at all. As a result, many students did not receive funding because they did not apply before a deadline of which they were, not informed. At least one col- lege program had to be can- celled because the students enrolled did NOU TeceiVe ee ae dents should be made availa- ble on the same basis as for all Canadians via both federal and provincial student aid plans, with the provinces being ceimbyyre¢d for ibsit supper. oY Indian students. The Post-Secondary .’ Education Assistance Program Until 1986/87, registered Indians or Inuit who-had been accepted by an accredited university, college, CEGEP, or institute of technology, were eligible for funding from PSEAP. Students accepted ifto university and college enirance preparation pro- grams were also eligible for assistance. The program was designed to cover all expenses that might prevent a student from completing a course of study, with nine categories including iraining, special shelter, tui- tion, and travel allowances. Assistance is available at undergraduate and graduate levels. Funding for attendance at foreign universities is also available, provided the pro- gram of study is not available at a Canadian university. The E-12 Circular states no strict monetary limit to the assistance available to an individual student, but there is a hmit in terms of the number of months of study for which a student may receive funding at each academic level, and for all post-secondary study in total. Until the 1986/87 fiscal increases in students and expenditures in the 80’s appear in the accompanying table. e Changes in PSEAP Policy. In April 1986, DIAND informed its regional offices that there would be an — cation deadline of Novem 1, 1986, for assistance for the 1986/87 fiscal year. According to DIAND, the intention was Costs - Dollars (000 ,000) (sctual) (actual) (actual) (actual) (actual) (budget) (budget) Cum ulathe Percentage Equivaleni** lacrease Changes to eligibility for the PSEAP have also been instituted. In May the Minis- ter of DIAND, Bill McKnight, announced four further changes to the PSEAP, to be brought into effect in the 1987/88 fiscal year. OStudents must have been resident in Canada for 12 con- secutive months before apply- ing for assistance. There is no such requirement in the E-12 Circular. St ts® Full-time Cumulative Percentage t — 4,44 $419 6.616 7,783 9,483 11,829 *Thix does sot include Bill C-31 siedents. **4 “Fall-time Equivalent’ is defined as 9 student enrolied ia three courses for an eight-month period. The estimated actual smouant spedi ia 1986/87 was 7 million. Source: Depsriment of Indian Affairs sad Northern Development Communique, Msy 14, 1987. taformation on Indian Post-Secoadary Education Programs. to announce well ahead of time that applications for 1986/87 would be taken up to November | and late applica- tions would be referred to the following year. The reason given for the change was to assist the department in managing within its budgetary estimates. DIAND’s regional offices were directed to notify band offices, Department counsel- OGraduate students will now receive the same allowance as other post-secondary students. Students who now seceive spe- cial benefits will receive them . for one more year only, and new students will not receive them at all. The E-12 Circular provides for special benefits in recognition of the increased incidental costs for post raduate students. Students will not be allowed year, all eligible students applying to the program received funding. If the pro- gram ran out of money, DIAND went to the Treasury Board for more. lors and post-secondary insti- tutions of the deadline. The Assembly of First Nations says ‘‘the Regional officials did not inform the Indian Governments of such a direc- 10 appeal if they have been refused assistance on the grounds that there are no funds available regionally. The E-12 Circular outlines an a Is process open to stu- dents “a feel the guidelines have not been applied fairly. OThe major change to the program has come in the form of a limit to the funds availa- ble. The PSEAP budget is fixed for the fiscal year, and it will no longer be possible to apply to the Treasury Board for more funds if the actual oes IN