Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, these past two weeks before attending session I had the opportunity to speak to a number of students returning to school down south and a number of students attending school for the first time. They were all excited about heading off to their new adventure.
I found it interesting, however, some of the students and parents were not well-versed in what they were entitled to receive from Student Financial Assistance as it pertains to travel. With this in mind, Mr. Speaker, I have some questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please advise us what the students can expect when it comes to travel when they attend school down south? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First off, I just want to say that our NWT Student Financial Assistance program continues to be one of the best financial aid programs throughout this country, and we do assist a lot of students going on to get their post-secondary education.
Now, with travel, Student Financial Assistance will assist any resident in the Northwest Territories who is eligible under the basic grants with travel expenses by air or by land from their home community to the nearest approved institution offering their program. Students are notified of their travel entitlement once their application has been approved. Our student service officers do a great job of informing them of what they are entitled to and work with them to make sure that they get to their institution of choice and also make sure that they get the supports that they need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Minister for his answer. I do have to agree that SFA is one of the best ones in the world. I was lucky enough to be part of it, as I went to school down south. However, there are some concerns, and there are still some challenges for parents and students to understand this. My next question is: can the Minister explain how the travel is calculated for students outside the regional centres, i.e., some of my small communities?
Once again, it is really up to the student whether they go by air or by land. Airfare travel is based on the cost from the student's home community to the nearest approved institution offering that same program. If they decide to go to post-secondary by land, then land travel is reimbursed based on mileage only.
I thank the Minister for his help clarifying some of this confusion out there. Again, it is new for some of these new students and, again, some parents who have not had children move out of home, I guess. Can the Minister explain how many trips a student is entitled to during the school year and when these trips are being scheduled?
The students who are eligible for the basic grant are entitled up to two return trips per academic year. Once students get an understanding of the program itself, if they are having problems kind of navigating around what the program offers, I really do encourage them to go and speak to their student service officers, as well as their guidance counsellors in the schools, but as I mentioned, two return trips if you're eligible under the basic grant.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that answer. What I will be doing with these answers is I will actually be putting them in my newsletter and sharing them with the communities out there so that people are better informed. I am not saying that they are not informed from the staff out there, because they are doing a good job, but just sometimes communications get lost in the woodwork.
In looking at students' travel, is the department staff given some flexibility to work with students to help them get down to their chosen school as long as it's within the budget log? In other words, if a student wants to go from Nahanni Butte to Calgary instead of Edmonton for the program, is there some flexibility to get the mileage within that budget? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Our Student Financial Assistance Program must abide by the act and regulations when determining a student's eligibility. We also strive to treat all students fairly and consistently, and decisions must be made in accordance with the regulations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
