Education is a provincial government responsibility in Canada.
In Manitoba, education is governed principally by The Public Schools Act and The Education Administration Act as well as regulations made under both Acts. Rights and responsibilities of the Minister of Education and the rights and responsibilities of school boards, principals, teachers, parents and students are set out in the legislation.
Children who are six years of age or older on December 31 in a given year have the right to attend school from the beginning of the fall term of that calendar year until they receive a graduation diploma, or until the last school day of June in the calendar year in which they become 21 years of age.
Children are required to attend school from the time they reach compulsory school age (7 years of age or will be reaching 7 years of age by December 31 in a given calendar year) until they attain the age of 18. Every parent or legal guardian of a child of compulsory school age is responsible for sending his/her child to school. Every student is responsible for attending school and classes regularly and on time, and completing assignments and other related work.
For more information and exceptions, consult the Administrative Handbook for Schools (R4)(R5)(R6)(S6).
With the provisions of the Schools of Choice initiative, students may apply for admission to any public school in the province.
For more information visit Schools of Choice.
The Funding of Schools booklet, issued annually, provides information specific to funding policies. For detailed information regarding funding policies, visit the Finance and Statistics site.
Over the next 10 years, the number of days in the school year will vary from year to year within a range of 194 to 196 days depending upon the date of the first Tuesday following Labour Day. Up to a maximum of ten non-instructional days can be used for teacher in-service, parent-student conferences, administration and pupil evaluation. Of these ten days, five must be used for teacher in-service. The instructional time per week from kindergarten to grade 8 is approximately 1650 minutes.
Visit Schools in Manitoba for current school calendar dates.
Generally speaking, school divisions/districts are required to provide or make provision for transportation for all resident students eligible for transportation according to provincial requirements and local school board policy.
For more information, consult the Administrative Handbook for Schools (T3).
See also the Pupil Transportation Unit site.
Manitoba's school system is comprised of public schools, independent schools that receive provincial funding, non-funded independent schools and home schooled students.
Public schools operate directly under the Minister of Education. These schools are governed by locally elected school division/district boards. Public schools are funded by a combination of direct provincial funding and special taxation levies. All Canadian citizens and landed immigrants residing with a parent or legal guardian in Manitoba have the right to attend public schools subject to provincial regulations.
For contact information, visit School Board Contacts Online.
The operation of independent schools varies. Some schools are affiliated with a specific religious or denominational group. They have their own governing bodies or boards. Independent schools are eligible for provincial funding if they implement the Manitoba curriculum and meet a number of additional requirements. Non-funded independent schools may not follow provincial curricula but must deliver a standard of education to that provided in a public school. Only funded independent schools are authorized to issue Senior Years course credits recognized by Manitoba Education.
For more information visit Independent Schools.
Schooling children at home is an option parents and/or legal guardians have in Manitoba as an alternative to compulsory attendance at a public or private school, providing certain policy requirements are met.
Manitoba has four school Programs:
For information visit the Kindergarten to Grade 12 School Programs site.
English and French are the languages of instruction in Manitoba. Schools that provide French language instruction fall into one of two program models:
Manitoba schools offer 13 grades (Kindergarten to Grade 12), which are grouped as follows
|Groupings||Grades||Approx. Age of Students|
|Early Years||Kindergarten* to Grade 4||5 to 10 years|
|Middle Years||Grade 5 to Grade 8||10 to 14 years|
|Senior Years||Grade 9 to Grade 12||14 to 18 years|
* Kindergarten remains an optional year of schooling. When a school division or school offers Kindergarten, the percentage time allotments for Grades 1-3 should be used as a guide for instructional time; provincial curriculum for Kindergarten should be followed. Provincial curriculum, which will continue to be developed to include Kindergarten, will be based on outcomes.
Senior Years schools in Manitoba may use either a full-year (non-semester) system or a semester system to organize their programming. In a full-year system, courses generally run for the full school year, from September to June. In a semester system, the school year is divided into two semesters, from September to January and from February to June.
For more information about Manitoba School Programs, visit
The Student Transfer Guide, compiled by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), has been prepared to assist receiving schools in placing secondary students so that their education can be as continuous as possible.