NEWS RELEASE

Ref: 860-380/27

74th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada
Halifax, Nova Scotia - September 29-30, 1998

Halifax, September 30, 1998

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EDUCATION MINISTERS URGE ACTION
ON MILLENNIUM SCHOLARSHIPS

Ministers of education today urged the federal government to review the Canada Millennium Scholarships Program to ensure that its design and purpose are fully consistent with existing provincial and territorial programs.

The call came at the close of a meeting in Halifax between the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) and the Honourable Pierre Pettigrew, federal Minister of Human Resources Development.

"Eligibility for the scholarships should be determined through existing provincial and territorial student aid programs," said the Honourable Roger Grimes, vice-chair of CMEC, who chaired the meeting. "Other approaches would lead to wasteful duplication."

Education ministers reminded Mr. Pettigrew that benefits to students would be maximized if transfer payments to provinces and territories were restored to an adequate level. "CMEC requests federal authorities to work with the provinces and territories to ensure a more reasonable balance between loans and grants," said Mr. Grimes.

Ministers also drew attention to the escalating level of debt borne by a growing number of students. They said they appreciated recent federal measures aimed at assisting students with high debt loads, but stressed that the federal government should pay its fair share in relation to current provincial programs, which help avoid or reduce student debt loads.

CMEC is an intergovernmental body made up of the ministers responsible for elementary- secondary and advanced education from the provinces and the territories. Through CMEC, ministers share information and undertake projects in areas of mutual interest and concern.

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Information:

Lara Inglis, CMEC
416-964-2551, ext. 256
E-mail: lara@cmec.ca

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