Universities open up to aboriginal students

With too few aboriginal students opting for a university education, Canada’s universities are launching a new, online tool to make it easier for aboriginal students to succeed in obtaining a higher education, writes Karen Seidman for The Montreal Gazette.

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada launched an online directory of programmes and services last Thursday to help aboriginal youth access the information they need to go to university. While this won't quell the growing grassroots Idle No More campaign that continues to highlight a tumultuous relationship between governments and Canada's First Nations, it was a little glimmer of welcome news locally at the Kahnawake reserve.

Aboriginal youth are one of the fastest-growing segments of the Canadian population. There are more than 560,000 aboriginals under the age of 25 across Canada, yet the university completion rate for the aboriginal population is 8% – about a third of the national average.
Full report on The Montreal Gazette site