A group of 21 students from across the province were selected to form the first Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Student Council, and the council has now celebrated the completion of its inaugural year. 

The council brings together a wide assortment of students — not only to bring to light issues facing students, but also to give student perspectives on institutional decisions before they are made.   

“We spoke on a lot of different topics and problems we’re facing, and we had a full-fledged agenda,” said Steven Jose Kattacheril, President of the Saskatchewan Polytech Student’s Association and member of the council.  

“We were the ones that were coming up with our own topics and they were being created as the agenda topics the ministry would focus on.” 

He said that initially, issues such as increased financial burden, student housing, and tuition were voiced to the Ministry and yielded valuable information on services provided that may alleviate concerns.  

This discussion branched out to cover mental health and wellbeing, the experience of transitioning in and out of post-secondary education, the grants and loan forgiveness available to assist in financing the education process. 

“We had our in-person meeting at the Ministry Office where we met with ministry officials and we even got a tour at the Legislative Assembly,” said Kattacheril.  

“So far it has been amazing, amazing that our voices are being heard and a lot of our perspectives are actually being taken into consideration,”  

He goes on to say that policies and initiatives have come to fruition because of the council’s responses.  

Kattacheril wasn’t the only Moose Jaw student to be selected for the council. There were two other student representatives: Shae Lynn Beaulieu (in her second year of Dental Hygiene and a Master of Science in Kinesiology), and Robyn Marie Gerow (into her second year of Civil Engineering Technology at Sask Polytech). 

Nominations for the 2024-25 council are in the final stages of the selection process, having already been submitted by Saskatchewan's post-secondary institutions. 

Students interested in joining the council in the future can email AEStudentCouncil@gov.sk.ca to be directed to the correct contact at their post-secondary institution.  

For more information on the Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Student Council, visit saskatchewan.ca.