N.S. introducing $16.2M one-time textbook grant program for post-secondary students
HALIFAX, N.S. — The province of Nova Scotia is making it a little easier for students on increasingly tight budgets to afford costly textbooks.
The government is introducing a one-time, needs-based, non-repayable grant of $1,350 that will automatically be deposited into the bank accounts of almost 12,000 eligible students at provincial universities, the Nova Scotia Community College or privately operated career colleges.
To qualify, students must be residents and recipients of provincial student assistance or “those who would have qualified for provincial assistance if not for a temporary increase in federal assistance this year.”
Students will be notified through their MyPATH account, and funds should be distributed in January or halfway through their next study period.
The grants will cost $16.2 million, which the province says is available thanks to savings within the student assistance program this year.
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Meanwhile, the four Atlantic provinces are contributing roughly $200,000 over the next three years to fund the Atlantic Open Educational Resources (OER) program, a platform that allows educators to share materials, access and adapt other educators’ resources and develop their OERs while reducing textbook and material costs for students.
The province says the OER has saved N.S. students more than $580,000 in textbook costs in recent years. Regionally, 23,643 students have taken advantage of the system for a “cumulative savings of $892,127.”
“The announcement of funding for Atlantic OERs is a long-awaited recognition of the issues we’ve been advocating for, and we appreciate the government’s responsiveness to student needs,” stated Sadie McAlear, vice chair of Students Nova Scotia and President of the Acadia Students’ Union.
