Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Jan 21/02) - The territory's student financial assistance program is getting an overhaul.

The current package was inherited from the NWT at division. But despite rising tuition and housing costs, the amount students receive hasn't changed in a decade.

Inuit students receive grants from the Department of Education for tuition, travel, books and a living expense, which varies according to the number of dependents.

They get a maximum of $2,500 for tuition. Last year tuition in Canada cost, on average, $3,700.

Single students receive just $675 a month for living expenses, which is supposed to cover rent, food and other living costs.

Non-Inuit students receive grants for tuition and travel based on the number of years they attended school in Nunavut. They're also eligible for forgivable loans if they return to work in Nunavut after they graduate.

For example, the government gives Jerry Natanine, who is studying social work in Thunder Bay, Ont., $1,205 each month for living expenses.

Natanine, his wife and three children live in a four-bedroom apartment and pay $850 each month in rent.

Before a student loan came through, that didn't leave much for food.

The family couldn't afford rain gear for their children or a phone.

They improvised their furniture, using an abandoned end table for a chair.

Natanine now receives an additional student loan, which will leave him $7,000 in debt this year.

He also won a $5,000 scholarship that he plans to use to buy a second-hand car.

"It's really discouraging," he said. "I'm just glad I have a family because if I was single, I'd get $675 a month."

Natanine believes a fairer system would break down costs into smaller categories, such as laundry and bus fare, and factor in high rents.

"I think everyone agrees that things haven't changed in 10 years," said David Freeman, a special adviser on adult learning and post-secondary services for the department of education. "It's a long time."

He added that many students from Nunavut have families, which create heavy financial responsibilities.

Still, according to Freeman, the tgerritorial student assistance program is not a barrier to education.

Freeman said Nunavut provides loans based on need to Inuit students with low (one per cent below prime) interest rates.

He said the government doesn't claw back scholarships or assess student's assets or parent's salaries when giving out loans.

"All I know is that education is a good investment no matter what. Most of us know it's a sacrifice."

Freeman said tuition costs vary across Canada, and "schools need to work with students to look at issues of tuition" as consumers.

Covering student's costs entirely would result in restrictions on the number of students who receive benefits, he pointed out.

"It would be nice to have a complete grant system, but is it affordable?"