Study Proposes Replacement Of PSSSP With Accounts

Study Proposes Replacement Of PSSSP With Accounts

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 15:05

 

 

A new research paper is calling for First Nations students to be given control over funding for post-secondary education.

 

The work was authored by Calvin Helin, the Aboriginal man who wrote the controversial book “Dances With Dependency”.

 

Helin says $314 million is being spent on First Nations post-secondary education every year, but the program needs to change.

 

He says the groups entitled to receive the money are First Nations communities, but accountability mechanisms are often non-existent.

 

Helin suggests the Post-Secondary Student Support Program be phased out and replaced with specialized savings accounts for all registered Indians.

 

Under his plan, each registered Indian child that is born would receive $4,000, and then an additional $3,500 a year for every year they move on to another grade level, beginning with Grade 6 — a plan he says would give them incentive to finish high school.

 

Helin says by the time they graduate from high school, they will have accumulated $25,000, plus interest, for tuition and other education costs.

 

The funds would then be paid directly by the government to the accredited educational institution of the students’ choice.

 

Helin says putting the money in the hands of the students themselves would ensure real Indian control over Indian education.