Indigenous student enrollment at Sask Polytech has dropped almost 30 per cent between 2019 and 2021, and the provincial auditor’s report is recommending measures to rectify that decline.
Saskatchewan Polytechnic had a strategy between 2018 and 2023 to address barriers for Indigenous students, but Provincial Auditor Tara Clemett said some areas need to improve.
Recommendations in the report include:
- Expand performance measures’ targets to evaluate whether its strategies support Indigenous student success. The auditor found there are no targets around Indigenous student enrolment and program retention rates with both measures declining since 2019.
- Conduct ongoing Indigenous community engagement and consultation to encourage enrolment and to report results on Indigenous student successes.
- Verify the Indigenous identity of staff in Indigenous-designated positions beyond using only self-identification.
The report said investigations are needed when enrolment numbers fluctuate, noting Sask Polytech didn’t do that between 2019 and 2021.
“Reducing disparities in educational outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students will support more equitable outcomes in attaining higher education, as well as lessen gaps in their employment earnings and overall success,” Clemett said.
The Saskatchewan Provincial Auditor’s Report for 2023 was released Tuesday, highlighting issues within the province regarding education, income support and highway maintenance.
The report also said fewer than than 50 per cent of Indigenous students graduate Grade 12 within three years of beginning Grade 10, and the Ministry of Education lacks plans to improve the situation.