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From The Belleville Intelligencer ...

Tight budget frustrates aboriginal school
Samantha Craggs - Osprey News Network - August 02, 2007

A few feet from Karihwakeron Tim Thompson's desk is an image of what could be.

Laid out in an architect's drawing is the future for First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI). The campus building, the FNTI president and CAO hopes, will be constructed at a cost of $15 million, part of a $50-million bayside project on the reserve that includes a hotel and conference centre. But some days, it seems farther and farther away.

Now in its 22nd year, FNTI offers seven core post-secondary courses from its current building, which is six portables tied together with some office space tacked onto it. The institute plans to expand to 11 courses this fall, and 400 students are enrolled, up from 343 last year.

But as fall looms, Thompson said, FNTI is wondering how it can be done on the shoestring budget afforded by the federal and provincial governments. For the new environmental technology program, Thompson said, FNTI is receiving $18,000. For its Mohawk immersion program, it received $11,000.

"How can you operate a program with that?" he said. "How do you hire a teacher?"

At issue, Thompson said, is a "seriously flawed" funding formula that sees FNTI students get the equivalent of one-fifth what post-secondary students at mainstream institutions get. FNTI has no full-time teaching staff and lacks the full per-student funding enjoyed by its mainstream counterparts. Ontario's eight aboriginal post-secondary institutions operate out of a $2.58-million provincial budget, he said.

"We've been able to thrive and succeed despite these inadequacies," he said. "But year after year, it becomes ridiculous. It belies the government to show they care about these students."

FNTI wrote Chris Bentley, minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, in February asking to meet with him. So far, Thompson said, there has been no response. The province says aboriginal education is a federal responsibility, he said, while the federal government points back to the province, saying the Indian Act says nothing about post-secondary education. In a media release this week, Councillor Blaine Loft from the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte called Bentley's lack of response "issue avoidance."

FNTI is at the point where it may have to delay its new programs, Thompson said. Operating them would put the school in "serious debt," he said. Political talk of empowering aboriginal communities and decreasing dependence through education, he said, sometimes feels like lip service.

"We haven't had to cut programs yet, and I hope it doesn't get to that," he said. "We have a huge demand. We have a huge potential for growth. It just doesn't make sense that you would hesitate to invest in our success."