New North calls for restoration of NORTEP in 2020 provincial election wish list
New North is calling for the reinstatement of the Northern Teacher Education Program (NORTEP) as part of its 2020 provincial election wish list.
“That was such a great program for northern people,” New North Chairperson and Creighton Mayor Bruce Fidler said in an interview with larongeNOW. “If young people wanted to get an education and become a teacher but could not necessarily afford to go to the larger centres like Saskatoon or Regina for university. To have that program in the north in different areas, was such a benefit. We’ve lost a really good program and it should definitely be brought back into place.”
The last graduating class for NORTEP, and its counterpart Northern Professional Access Program, was held April 2018. It was established in 1976 and designed to address the shortage of teachers in northern Saskatchewan. In all, more than 400 students graduated from the program with close to 90 per cent choosing to teach in the region.
The entire New North wish list consists of nine points in categories including physical and mental health, economic and social development, highways and infrastructure, and education. One of the main points is the creation of a Co-operative Centre for Developing Northern Saskatchewan to link industry, businesses, communities and universities with a grant process to speed innovations in healthcare, administration and governance and economic development in northern Saskatchewan.