Aboriginal education "remains a priority," the provincial and territorial education ministers said Friday, adding more meetings are planned to follow up on a 2009 conference that focused on the education of native people.

"Ministers continue to work collaboratively to eliminate the gap in academic achievement and graduation rates between aboriginal and non-aboriginal students," said a joint declaration at the end of the ministers' latest gathering in Winnipeg.

The communiqué did not elaborate on what measures would be taken to address the gap, but noted it was a followup to last year's "summit" of education ministers focusing exclusively on aboriginal education.

"Ministers underscored their commitment and interest in continued engagement with [national aboriginal organizations]," the release said.

The meeting was chaired by Diane McGifford, the minister of Advanced Education in Manitoba, who said meetings would be set up with officials from the federal government.

"We know that we have to discuss the aboriginal issues with them," McGifford said. "We know that aboriginal education has a long way to go. But we do know that progress is being made."

Further work is also to be done on funding native education and collecting data on aboriginal students to track their progress.

"Our continuing dialogue on aboriginal education provides us with a better understanding of the needs of all First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, and enriches our ongoing work with regional aboriginal organizations in each province and territory," stated Rob Norris, Saskatchewan's minister of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration.