Transfer options crucial

Langara Indigenous students gain an advantage because of an SFU transfer partnership.

The SFU-Langara Indigenous Transfer Pathway is a great way to make it easier for Indigenous students to transition from college to university with specified admissions and entrance awards.

A similar partnership with UBC has already been established back in 2015 after a successful pilot program three years prior.

Opinion

RYAN NG

This is all good news for the Indigenous students as it allows them options for their post-secondary education with two prestigious universities.

Additional options for schools for the students is beneficial as some may prefer one university to the other because the school may provide certain programs or specialties. The location may also be an additional factor for the student’s choice as not every student can live by UBC.

Hopefully, more universities in Canada will decide to support Indigenous students with their education and offer themselves as an alternative. More transferable options in other parts of Canada could also be nice as it can offer Indigenous students the experience of other Canadian Indigenous cultures in a different location.

However, this program can be seen as an unfair advantage given to Indigenous students because they might not have to work as hard to get into a university.

According to Statistics Canada, 9.8 per cent of Indigenous people aged 25 to 64 have a university degree compared to 26.5 per cent for non-Indigenous people in Canada and 28.9 per cent of Indigenous people aged 25 to 64 have no certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 12.1 per cent of non-Indigenous people.

Programs like this are important to help Indigenous students go above and beyond in their education and break down education barriers.

Attending post-secondary after graduating high school has become increasingly necessary to find stable careers in the modern world.

Unfortunately, this level of education remains restricted to those who can afford its high cost. Even for those who can afford it, people who struggle with mental health are statistically less likely to attend a post-secondary school.

Among the many strategies we as a society could take to help alleviate this discrepancy, one would be to provide institutional support systems for youth with mental health

Opinion

struggles or neurodevelopmental conditions. For example, secondary schools could be expected to provide support councilors trained to help struggling youth with succeeding in their classes so that they can attend post-secondary school.

CHRISTOPHER MACMILLAN

Grants could be provided to help these students better afford some of, if not all of, the financial costs of a post- secondary education.

There are already similar organizations for at-risk students in Canada, like the Council of Ministers of Education, so providing these kinds of support services to youth struggling with their mental health would help them better achieve their career goals.

Fundamentally, our educational system needs to recognize that more training is necessary when it comes to developmentally challenged youth.

Post-secondary education is challenging enough without the added pressure and stress of having a neurodevelopmental condition, or a mental-health related disability.

Another strategy we could adopt would be to provide financial support and education to the parents of youth with neurodevelopmental conditions. Parents whose child struggles with mental health often feel overwhelmed and uninformed when it comes to their child’s needs. Providing the necessary education and financial support to these parents could drastically improve their child’s chances of succeeding. Regardless of what we do to help youth with mental health struggles, the statistical evidence shows that unless we provide these youth the necessary help they need, they will continue to underachieve in their education and life.