A life Long Learning System

Like health care, education continues to be a top priority of this government. Albertans need and deserve a lifelong learning system that provides the best possible start in the early grades; an accessible post-secondary system; and opportunities for job training and retraining throughout one's career.

The government will increase funding to school boards to help improve student learning. Boards may use these dollars to reduce class sizes, enhance literacy programs or introduce other initiatives so that learning, particularly at the earliest grade levels, can be enhanced. There will also be more dollars for teacher salaries to ensure that Alberta can continue to attract and retain Canada's best teachers.  Work will continue on the government's one billion dollars, three-year commitment to build new schools and modernize existing ones, so our students have a safe, healthy environment in which to learn.

Supports for post-secondary students will be augmented. The number of Heritage Scholarships will be increased to meet the demand, athletic scholarships will be boosted, the Jason Lang scholarship will be expanded to students in their third and fourth years, and a new scholarship will be introduced for graduate students. Automatic student loan forgiveness, and a more user-focused student finance system will also be introduced to make the post-secondary learning system more affordable.