Fourteen Bachelor of Midwifery students at the University College of the North learnt that courses for their program will not continue as funding was cut from the provincial program.

Students rallied outside the Manitoba Legislative Building on Tuesday to demand answers from the provincial government. Students argued that they already took out student loans for tuition and made sacrifices in professional and personal life to accommodate studying for the program.

Education Minister Ian Wishart says the real issue is that the program was sending students to practical work that were not up to standard. The University College of the North launched the multi-million dollar midwifery program in 2006 with a mandate to address the shortage of midwives especially in northern communities.