Lisa Scott
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 28/04) - The NWT is happy with the way $333,000 in scholarship money is distributed to students pursuing post-secondary education.

Members of the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation stopped in Yellowknife last week as part of a three-month, 18-city tour.

Halfway through their 10-year mandate to spend $2.5 billion in federal money, the group was looking for feedback.

Mike Vaydik, one of about a dozen at the May 20 meeting, says he is happy with the way the scholarships are handed out to Northerners.

Representatives from the department of Education, Culture and Employment, Aurora College, the Dene Nation and others attended the meeting as well.

"Overall, the group was very supportive of the way they (the foundation) are mandating it now," said Vaydik, Chamber of Mines director.

"There are challenges to being a student in the North, but finances aren't one of them."

Juda Strawczynski, the director of the foundation, and Laura Chapman, its associate executive director, agreed with Vaydik's assessment of the uniqueness of the territories.

"I think there are things to learn from the territory," said Chapman, pointing out the Student Financial Assistance Program and the strong economy.

In 2002/2003, 111 NWT students benefited from Millennium Scholarships. Each award is worth $3,000 towards studying at the post-secondary level starting in the second year.

More than 90,000 Canadian students in financial need reap $285 million in scholarships annually.