Report Shows Education Investment Above Canadian Average

Nova Scotia invests more of its resources in education than most other provinces, says a national report released today, Sept. 11.

"We are using our resources wisely in ways that help our students succeed, such as investing in daily help for students who are having difficulty learning to read," said Education Minister Ramona Jennex. "More importantly, it is not how much we spend but how we are spending it. Our Kids and Learning First plan outlines ways we are doing things differently to help our students achieve better results."

The national report compares provinces in several areas, including how much of their total resources are invested in education. It shows Nova Scotian students between 7 and 14 have fewer mandatory hours in the classroom than students in most other provinces. Under the Kids and Learning First plan, parents, school boards and others will be consulted on whether students have the time they need to improve achievement.

The report also shows the number of Nova Scotia students who graduate high school is above the national average. An objective of the Kids and Learning First plan is to keep students interested and motivated to stay in school, graduate, get good jobs and become good citizens. Programs such as the Discovering Opportunities program, co-operative education and personal development credit are designed to do that.

"This report reminds us that there are some things we are doing well, and some things we must do differently to help our students do better," said Ms. Jennex. "I look forward to working with families, students, teachers and school boards as we make improvements to help every student succeed."

Nova Scotia spends more than $1 billion a year on public education. There are about 123,485 students in the province's school system.

The national report, produced by Statistics Canada and the Council for Ministers in Education, Canada, was released with an annual international report that confirms Canada remains a world leader in education.

Both reports can be found at www.cmec.ca . More information on Kids and Learning First can be found at www.novascotia.ca/kidsandlearning .