Education Initiatives

Education Minister John Ottenheimer says Budget 2004 reflects government's new approach to an education system based on access and opportunity with a goal to encourage lifelong learning.

"Investments in education are smart investments in our future. An educated society is key to our success as a province and fundamental to our agenda of economic growth and job creation," Minister Ottenheimer said.

Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation
Government's objective to provide opportunity through the expansion of distance education offerings to broaden the curriculum and facilitate excellence in learning at the high school level, is reflected through additional funding of $400,000 for the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation (CDLI), for a total commitment of $4.5 million to CDLI this year.

"This additional funding will provide for an increase in e-teachers and access to additional online courses for high school students in many communities that may have difficulty recruiting curriculum specialists."

Minister Ottenheimer noted that this province is recognized throughout the country as a leader in the development and delivery of quality distance education programming and CDLI teachers are in addition to teachers allocated to school board districts.

White paper on public post-secondary education
Hundreds of millions of dollars are invested in post-secondary education annually through sources such as provincial operating grants, student aid, and the Labour Market Development Agreement.

Government recognizes knowledge as the fuel of the new economy and has set a course to examine post-secondary concerns, affordability and accessibility, and to identify initiatives that will enhance the employment prospects of graduates through the allocation of $250,000 for the commission of a white paper on public post-secondary education.

"The white paper will ensure our public post-secondary education system is positioned to address the issues and challenges of today and into the future," said the minister. "These institutions have world-class instructors and technological resources, and are well-positioned to partner with industry and the community on economic development opportunities."

Tuition freeze
Budget 2004 also reinforced government's commitment to a tuition freeze for Memorial University and College of the North Atlantic students for the coming academic year. The tuition freeze is a reflection of government's goal to ensure accessibility to higher education through the public post-secondary system.

Media contact: Lynn Salter, Communications (709) 729-0048

2004 03 30                                    2:15 p.m.