February 22, 2005
Concordia University, Montreal
Recent Research
and Background
Reading
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Providing Critical Supports for Successful Learning
D. Resources
Funding Equity
As confirmed by the case studies of this report, inadequate educational funding remains a critical
issue for all but the largest band-operated schools. Governing authorities of band-operated schools
such as those of Atikameg and Chalo schools must subsidize their education grants to maintain
their desired levels of service.
As previously discussed, the federal government is responsible for the education of Indians or
Inuit normally resident on reserves or on Crown land, a responsibility that has been delegated to
the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND), whose stated objective is
"to ensure that eligible Indians Š have access to the education programs and services available in
public schools in the province in which the reserve is located"[1] Further to this, DIAND's guidelines
for the delivery of educational programs state;
"In the case of band-operated or federal schools, the Council shall ensure that programs
comparable to provincially recognized programs of study are provided, and that only
provincially certified teachers are employed. The council shall also ensure that education
standards allow students to transfer without penalty to an equivalent grade in another
school within the school system of the province in which the school is located."[2]
DIAND's stated objective and operational guidelines leave no doubt that qualifying Aboriginal
students are entitled to receive an education comparable to that provided in the provincial school
system, and that Aboriginal education authorities are to ensure that standards equivalent to those
of provincial schools are maintained in their schools.[3] However, as British Columbia's First Nations
Education Steering Committee (FNESC) has documented through commissioned studies, DIAND
provides significantly less educational funding to band-operated schools than those schools would
receive under provincial funding.
Using 1999 allocation levels for an elementary/junior secondary school with 100 students, Matthew
(June, 2000) calculated provincial funding at $1,129,152 and DIAND funding at $663,517, 41%
below the provincial level. A more recent study (Postl, Jan. 2003), examined 88 band-operated
schools in BC and found that the funding provided by DIAND would have to be increased by 34%
to match the amounts that local school districts would have provided for the 2002/2003 school
year.[4] While the disparity in funding seems to be slowly improving, federal educational funds
available to band-operated schools remain substantially below provincial levels.
Assuming similar differentials in other provinces, the federal government through DIAND may be
supplying only about 75% of the educational funding provided by provincial systems. With fully
one-third less available funding, it is unreasonable to expect band education authorities to provide
programs and services equivalent to those in the provincial system or that Aboriginal students in
band-operated schools will have the stipulated access to the "programs and services available in
public schools". If the intent of federal authorities is to ensure that Canada's Aboriginal people
receive a level of education equivalent to that provided by provincial authorities, educational
grants from DIAND should be calculated using provincial funding definitions, formulas and
accountability mechanisms. For true equivalency, funding must also take into account the cost of
providing the infrastructure and support services provinces provide through their Education
ministries.
1. Elementary/secondary education, retrieved from http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ps/edu/elem_e.html March 20, 2004.
2. DIAND, (Nov. 2003), From the Service Delivery Standards section of the Elementary/Secondary Education National Program Guidelines
3. While stated as an objective, equality of education is a right of Treaty Aboriginal students.
4. Bill Postl, January 2004.First Nations Schools/Provincial Schools Funding Analysis: 2002/2003 School Year. Vancouver: First Nations Education Steering Committee.
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