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BURNABY – A new campus of the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) in Burnaby will give more Aboriginal students access to top-notch post-secondary education and training starting this fall.
Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell announced today that the technology institute, which has educated Aboriginal students from all over British Columbia in its Merritt campus for almost 25 years, will take over Burnaby operations of the Institute of Indigenous Government. The transfer is expected to be complete by September, and current students will be able to continue their education at the Burnaby campus.
Before approving the change, the Ministry of Advanced Education consulted with the B.C. First Nations Leadership Council, which expressed its support. Ruth Wittenberg, assistant deputy minister of post-secondary education for the Province, has been appointed public administrator to work with NVIT and the B.C. First Nations Leadership Council to ensure a smooth transition for current students at the Institute of Indigenous Government.
The Nicola Valley Institute of Technology is an Aboriginal-governed institution established by five First Nations bands in the Nicola Valley in 1983. It became a public post-secondary institution in 1995. Credit for many of NVIT’s courses can be transferred to the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Northern British Columbia, as well as most of the province’s community colleges.
The Province provided a total of $6.4 million in operating funds to both institutes in the 2007-08 budget.
An investigation into the operations of the Institute of Indigenous Government is continuing, and results of a forensic audit have been turned over to the RCMP.
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