Students to get a chance to help set educational policy

A group of teenagers in the province is going to get a chance to help influence the future of education in Saskatchewan.

The provincial government announced Thursday that it will soon be seeking applications for the first youth council on education. Its first meeting is planned for the fall.

“We want to do everything we can to engage students in their education,” Education Minister Gord Wyant said in a media release. “Collaborating with students on education matters that impact them every day will provide our ministry with valuable insight.”

According to the release, the council will “provide advice and leadership to the Minister of Education on how to engage youth on a variety of topics.” The 12 students who are selected for the first council will help set principles that will guide future councils.

The ministry is looking for students from every region of the province who have different interests and backgrounds.

The government is hoping to receive nominations from school divisions, First Nations and Métis education organizations and directors of independent schools around the province.

The goal is to get nominations for students entering grades 10, 11 or 12 in the 2019-20 school year who could make what the government called “a significant contribution” to the council.

“We have inspirational students across our province who are leaders in their own schools and communities,” Wyant said in the release. “By engaging students on a provincial level, we can provide supports that better reflect what they need to prepare them for their futures.”

Information packages including details on the nomination criteria are to be distributed to educational organizations in the next few weeks.