This is directly related to federal-provincial funding arrangements and government policy decisions outside First Nations jurisdiction. Given the increasing tuition costs and demand for post secondary education assistance, First Nations are limited as to the amount of support they can provide to students. Mandatory equipment such as art supplies, photography equipment, culinary tools and others, are at the cost of the student in numerous cases. Although inflation continues to drive the cost of equipment and books up, First Nations post secondary education funding remains stagnant for the most part. The double cohort of high school graduates will materialize as a result of the revised secondary education program in Ontario which reduces secondary education to four years.
Most students currently take five years to complete their secondary education.
Increased student base will be met with limited First Nations post secondary education funding resulting in more unfunded post secondary education students. Unfunded Students First Nations continue to experience a greater demand for post secondary education assistance than there are funds available. This has become more evident over the past five years although it has been a long standing problem for First Nations. This trend continues due to the many contributing factors pressuring post secondary education in Ontario. The factors are ignored by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and remain barriers for First Nations.