Saskatchewan is changing graduation requirements for high school students starting in the 2024-25 school year. (980 CJME file photo)

By CKOM News Staff

Changes coming to Sask. high school graduation requirements

Nov 8, 2023 | 12:20 PM

Starting in the 2024-25 school year, high school students in Saskatchewan will have different requirements to graduate — including taking a course on financial literary.

In a media release Wednesday, the provincial government said the changes to high school graduation requirements are being made to give students more choice and flexibility in their education.

The changes will affect students entering Grade 10 next September.

The changes involve: A new credit requirement for a course that focuses on financial literacy; a decrease in the number of required credits for English language arts (ELA) from five to three, with one requirement at each of the grades 10, 11 and 12 levels; a decrease in required credits for social sciences from three to two; and an increase in the number of electives students need to graduate.

The government said the changes were made after consultation with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, the League of Educational Administrators, Directors and Superintendents, First Nation education authorities, post-secondary institutions, various chambers of commerce, and parents.

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Those groups suggested to the government that students need more credit flexibility in their classes so they can learn subjects about which they’re passionate, with the goal of helping them enter the workforce without too much difficulty.

“Allowing students more personal choice in their learning to better prepare them for their futures and getting Saskatchewan back to basics is a positive step forward,” Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill in the release.

“We have heard from the education sector that students need to be prepared for a rapidly changing labour market by focusing on the development of transferrable skills in areas such as financial literacy.”

According to the release, the new Grade 10 Financial Literacy credit will aim to help students understand personal finances and the economy. The government noted the majority of Canadian provinces already require students to take a financial literacy class.

The changes to the number of required credits for ELA and social sciences also align Saskatchewan with other provinces.

Students will still need 24 credits to graduate from high school, but the release said students “will now have more choice and flexibility in how they achieve those 24 required credits.”