Saskatchewan Education

Saskatchewan Education is provided free to all Canadian citizens and permanent residents aged under 18 years. As with the rest of Canada, education is a provincial responsibility to administer.

For education in Saskatchewan, students are legally required to attend school between the ages of 6 and 16 years, although most students continue until they are 18 years to receive a graduation diploma.

It is extremely important that you find out when the registration period is to ensure that your kids get the places at the schools you want. The registration normally takes place several months before the year starts (I.E. register in Feb. for September). Contact the particular school to find out the precise details. There may well be an administration fee charged to register your child!

Publicly funded elementary and secondary schools are administered by Saskatchewan's School Division's with the school year usually running from the beginning of September through to June 30th. However, there may be variations to this within different school divisions. Most schools close down for the months of July and August as well as breaks at Christmas and Easter.

Elementary And Secondary Schools

Elementary schooling starts with Kindergarten (age 5 years)where the student will attend 5 days of either morning or afternoon classes. It is normally part of the school that your child will attend in Grade 1 and is good preparation for full time school.

Students continue at elementary school from Grade 1 (age 6) to Grade 5 (age 11), middle school from Grade 6 (age 12) to Grade 9 (age 15) and secondary or high school from Grade 10 (age 16) to Grade 12 (age 18). This age or younger is a very good time to think about saving for your child's post secondary education. Fee's for post secondary education are very expensive. There is a savings plan available in which the Federal Government will input a percentage of your contributions and the plan will grow tax deferred. These are called Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP).

Most students will continue with their education at high school to graduate and receive a Saskatchewan High School Diploma. This is a necessity for post secondary education and is also recognized by most employers.

Transfer From Abroad

Students who are coming to complete their education in Saskatchewan from a different school system should submit an official statement of previous standing, such as a report card, to the school they want to enroll in.

You should also have the previous school records and transcripts, copies of course outlines and content. After considering a number of factors including the students age, records and test results they will be placed in the appropriate grade. It will definitely be worth contacting any particular schools before you move to ensure you have everything you need. Even enquire about faxing documents to be sure they meet the requirements.

Post Secondary Education

There is a good variety of Post Secondary Education in Saskatchewan with plenty of high quality institutes to choose from including two Universities. The University of Saskatchewan which is located in Saskatoon and the University of Regina, located in Regina. There are also four Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SAIST) campuses, they are located in Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Regina. There are also nine regional college systems and fifty private vocational schools.

Student Loans

As with all of Canada, the Post Secondary education in Saskatchewan is NOT free. Several years ago, the Canadian Government launched RESP's to help parents save for their children's future education needs. These are great if you start them early, but if your kids are about to start when you land it is too late. (see link above for more details).

The Canada-Saskatchewan Integrated Student Loan is a scheme that provides financial assistance to eligible post secondary students. The amount of assistance you receive is based on financial need. There are a number of different factors that will qualify you for a loan, but you must be a Saskatchewan resident, a Canadian citizen or Permanent resident and you must be enrolled or qualify to enroll as a full time post secondary student in an approved program at a designated school.

For your convenience, here are the links to our other education pages:

1. Alberta
2. British Columbia
3. BC Post Secondary Education
4. Manitoba
5. New Brunswick

1. Newfoundland and Labrador
2. Nova Scotia
3. Ontario
4. Prince Edward Island
5. Saskatchewan