ST. JOHN_S--Approximately $5.3 million dollars in up-front grant funding has been dispersed to over 6,400 post-secondary students this fall semester, according to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

"Students applaud this impressive effort to improve access to post-secondary education," said Daniel Smith, Newfoundland and Labrador Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "At a time when seventy percent of new jobs require at least two years of postsecondary education, the provincial government has understood the need to get more students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds into school."

The up-front, need based grant program is now entering its third year since being announced in the 2007 provincial budget. In the 2009 provincial budget, the grant program was expanded by an additional ten dollars per week. Currently, a student is eligible to receive up to $60 per week in the form of a provincial loan, with up to a further $80 per week as an upfront, non-repayable grant. These grants are generally issued six weeks into the semester.

"The provincial government implemented a program of need-based grants following a successful Student Day of Action in 2007," said Smith. "Three years later, these grants have not only increased access to post-secondary education, but have also reduced student debt."

The Canadian Federation of Students-Newfoundland and Labrador represents every public post-secondary student in Newfoundland and Labrador.