Sask. students rally for access to education, tuition removal

Students in Saskatchewan rallied on Wednesday for affordable and accessible education as part of a countrywide demonstration.

The University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina were among 53 Canadian campuses participating in the student day of action.

"We're not only advocating for University of Saskatchewan students, we're also standing in solidarity with our peers across the province and across the nation," said Carolyne Gaspar, vice-president of external relations for the graduate students' association at the University of Saskatchewan.

Gaspar said it was important to show strength in numbers as the rallies called for the removal of tuition fees.

"Student leaders across the nation have been pretty vocal about this and we've had positive return from government," she said.

Keeping northern education in the north

Another rally was held Wednesday in La Ronge, Sask., as students continue to protest impending cuts to the NORTEP program.

Founded in 1976, the Northern Teacher Education Program (NORTEP) was designed to train northern teachers by offering a university degree in La Ronge.

The province provides $3.4 million in annual funding, which helps to provide bursaries for NORTEP students. That funding is expected to be cut by July.

• Northern education cut brings protesters to legislature   
• Northern Sask. students worried about plans to close NORTEP, move programming    

"We're not going down without a fight," Amie Bell, president of the students' association, told CBC Radio's Blue Sky.

Bell said it's important that students in the north have the chance to get their education at home.

"It's close to home. We're comfortable here," Bell said. "We get that face-to-face interaction with our students, with our teachers, our faculty members. It's a very well-planned-out program and it works very well for everyone in the north."