Canada’s grain and potash center is also home to striking prairie vistas, a rich socio-political tradition and a number of excellent schools and universities.
Though not officially bilingual, Saskatchewan nonetheless organizes provincial education into four distinct school systems, along language (English and French) and religious (secular, Protestant of Catholic) lines, offering parents from many backgrounds and traditions a variety of schooling options.
General Education Facts
Education in Saskatchewan runs from Kindergarten (Year 0) to Grade 12.
Saskatchewan is unique in Canada for dividing its school system into four distinct sub-systems:
Public system (including French Immersion)
Separate system
French system
Protestant system
The Separate system is denomination ally Catholic, whilst the public and French systems are secular and the Protestant system is Anglican.
Individual municipalities and communities are responsible for operating schools within their jurisdictions through local elected parallel school boards, with linguistic divisions based on region.
The provincial education ministry, Saskatchewan Education, is responsible for provincial curriculum development and management, as well as teacher certification.
All schools in Saskatchewan must follow the same basic curriculum, regardless of religious or political affiliation, though many schools offer exciting courses and opportunities beyond the core requirements.
Post Secondary Education Facts
In Canada, there are basically four types of post-secondary educational institution:
Universities, which are empowered to grant all levels of post-secondary degree
University Colleges, which are empowered to grant four-year and two year degrees, as well as technical degrees
Colleges, which are empowered to grant two-year and vocational degrees
Private schools that offer specific religious, vocational, technical or language training.
In Canada, post-secondary education is the responsibility of the provincial and territorial governments, and the provinces administer all funds provided by the Government of Canada for the express purpose of college and university administration.
In Saskatchewan the ministry responsible for managing higher education is Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration.
The federal government, however, still offers a variety of funding options to individuals and universities for research, student financial aid, and for various scholarships.
Saskatchewan Opportunities for Higher Education
The University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, is the province’s largest and most prestigious university. Along with it’s world-renowned particle physics program, the university is a research center boasting a top-flight medical school, an excellent commerce department and among Canada’s best agricultural economics programs.
The University of Regina, the province’s second public university, offers excellent programs in business administration, economics, arts, and Engineers/Applied sciences.
The Saskatoon Institute of Applied Science and Technology is a vocational and technical school offering a number of certificates and degrees related to everything from agriculture to aviation to the oil industry.
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