Manitoba - Education

Education

The first school in Manitoba was founded in 1818 by Roman Catholic missionaries in present-day Winnipeg; the first Protestant school was established in 1820. A provincial board of education was established in 1871; it was responsible for public schools and curriculum, and represented both Catholics and Protestants. The Manitoba Schools Question led to funding for French Catholic schools largely being withdrawn in favour of the English Protestant majority. Legislation making education compulsory for children between seven and fourteen was first enacted in 1916, and the leaving age was raised to sixteen in 1962.

Public schools in Manitoba fall under the regulation of one of thirty-seven school divisions within the provincial education system (except for the Manitoba Band Operated Schools, which are administered by the federal government). Public schools follow a provincially mandated curriculum in either French or English. There are sixty-five funded independent schools in Manitoba, including three boarding schools. These schools must follow the Manitoban curriculum and meet other provincial requirements. There are forty-four non-funded independent schools, which are not required to meet those standards.

There are five universities in Manitoba, regulated by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Literacy. Four of these universities are in Winnipeg: the University of Manitoba, the largest and most comprehensive; the University of Winnipeg, a liberal arts school primarily focused on undergrad studies located downtown; Université de Saint-Boniface, the province's only French-language university; and the Canadian Mennonite University, a religious-based institution. The Université de Saint-Boniface, established in 1818 and now affiliated with the University of Manitoba, is the oldest university in Western Canada. Brandon University, formed in 1899 and located in Brandon, is the province's only university not in Winnipeg.

Manitoba has thirty-eight public libraries; of these, twelve have French-language collections and eight have significant collections in other languages. Twenty-one of these are part of the Winnipeg Public Library system. The first lending library in Manitoba was founded in 1848.