Debates of May 9, 2007 (day 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker. I would like to, at this time, just take a few minutes just to offer my condolences to my honourable colleague in the Nunakput riding to some of the students I went to school with that the Member mentioned earlier in this statement here.

My question is to the Education Minister, Mr. Speaker, is that in the sessional statement by the Premier, he quoted saying the education of our youth remains one of our most pressing challenges facing our territory and is a continued priority of our government. Mr. Speaker, what measures does the Minister have to compare the achievement levels of Grade 12 graduates in small communities to those larger centres? How are we doing in terms of the quality of our education in our smaller communities versus our larger centres? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 43-15(6): Enhancing Post-Secondary Student Achievement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think one of the best measures of success of our students coming out the secondary system is how many of them can move successfully into the post-secondary system; how many can go on to college or to studies after high school. We can assess that by looking at the student financial assistance record. We know that before we got into grade extensions, we were seeing in their best years about 34 percent of students who were going to post-secondary studies who were aboriginal. There were only about 842 students a year accessing student financial assistance at that time. Most recently, we are seeing over 1,500 students accessing student financial assistance. That is the current number. Our five-year average is about 1,440. Of those, 661, or 46 percent, are aboriginal. So we know we are seeing people in the smaller communities come to the school and being more and more successful getting into post-secondary studies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 43-15(6): Enhancing-Post Secondary Student Achievement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister what steps he is taking so that in the future high school diplomas in the small communities will be the same quality as the diploma from a larger centre such as Yellowknife, Hay River or Inuvik. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 43-15(6): Enhancing Post-Secondary Student Achievement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For students who take the same courses, no matter what the community is, those marks in those places represent the same achievement. That’s because in Grade 12 we use Alberta departmental exams. They count for at least 50 percent to the student’s mark. So whether the student is in Tulita or here in Yellowknife, they have to pass the same exam in order to pass the course. So in that way, we know that student achievement is the same.

One of the issues we think may be a problem with people thinking that achievement is less in the small communities is that oftentimes students and parents don’t understand that a choice they make on a course in Grade 9 may require the student to take a course in upgrading in order to pursue the course they want in college. That’s a big issue in not only the smaller communities, but in the larger communities. We have a lot of students who have to come back and take subsequent courses after graduation in order to pursue the course they want to take in college or university.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 43-15(6): Enhancing Post-Secondary Student Achievement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In our small communities such as Colville Lake or our larger centres like Norman Wells and Deline, some of these centres don’t have chemistry labs, biology labs and physics and qualified teachers to teach it or they are overburdened by the number of students. That’s what I am asking. For these students who are graduating from our smaller communities, they are only geared to go into certain trades or careers. If they wanted to be a doctor or a biologist, they have to take extra courses. In Yellowknife or Hay River, they have these facilities available. In smaller communities, we are challenged. I want to ask the Minister what is his department doing to make the same standard of education in our small communities rather than asking our students that these are the trades you can take or these are the courses you can take. If you want to get further into education, good luck in upgrading your skills to meet those requirements. What is the Minister doing to handle that issue? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 43-15(6): Enhancing Post-Secondary Student Achievement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it’s important to understand that we’re not talking about an issue that is only of concern in smaller communities; it’s an issue that is happening all across Canada. Even in Alberta, a large number of students have to go back after they’ve reached the qualifications to reach a graduation certificate, a lot of students have to go back and take upgrading in order to get into the course they want to pursue in college or university. So it’s not something we only see in the Northwest Territories. It happens all across Canada. It’s largely because students aren’t aware that choices they make early in their career, as early as Grade 8 and Grade 9, will make a difference in whether or not they will need to go into upgrading to go onto college.

Mr. Speaker, what do we do in the Northwest Territories to try to ensure people have the best opportunity? We try to make sure we have a much higher proportion of teachers to students in the smaller communities than we do in the larger communities. We make sure high schools receive disproportionate funding, extra funding, over what would be seen in larger communities to be sure they can provide the programs. We are working with the schools to make sure that better distance education opportunities are provided so that students can access programs that they might not be able to access otherwise. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 43-15(6): Enhancing Post-Secondary Student Achievement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recently had a conversation with a teacher in one of my communities. Mr. Speaker, that teacher was culture shocked having to come into a classroom in the Sahtu and being faced with three or four grades to teach in the same room. So it’s a little bit different in the small communities than in the larger centres.

Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is, on measuring success by having the students enrolled in SFA, it doesn’t show if the students are entering university or taking upgrading prior to entering university or college, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister give a reply to the House here on the success in terms of our students finishing Grade 12 and going right into a college program or university program or a technical school rather than having SFA and then going into upgrading to see if they qualify for the courses they want? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 43-15(6): Enhancing Post-Secondary Student Achievement

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The numbers that I gave the Member in the first answer are the ones that I would again use, because student financial assistance is only intended for students who want to enter a degree or certificate program. So it’s not provided for upgrading. There are two exceptions and that is we offer students who are enrolled in a teacher education program, one year access to programming, as well as to nursing students. So the numbers in those two would be, in a typical year, less than 30 of the total number I have reported here. So it’s still a significant number who are successful in moving directly into the programs at college.