Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I think it was two weeks ago I brought up an issue with the Minister Education, Culture and Employment in this House with regard to trying to get some resolution about guidelines for a young student from Trout Lake. I just want to inform the Minister, as well, that I was just informed today that the young student had to quit school. So I think that we failed this student. This student was a resident of the Northwest Territories and is a band member of the Trout Lake band. So I would just like to ask the Minister, how can we prevent a situation like this in the future? Because we stand up here, we espouse of how much we’ll bend over backwards for our students and our residents and yet we fail this young lady in this situation. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It is unfortunate that the student had to drop out of school. Certainly our view is to have success in all students. There are certain protocols that we need to follow. One of the protocols is to work closely with district education authorities and divisional education councils as well. They’re the ones that have policies in place. If a student from the community wants to take on with home boarding, they’re the ones who made those decisions at the community level, because they’re experts at the community level. We work closely with them, as well, so we will continue to support those DEAs and DECs with the policies that they have and if there needs to be some changes, then, certainly, we are willing to work with that as well.
Absolutely, there are going to have to be some changes made. I think when I brought it up a couple weeks ago I was trying to make the case that we are responsible for aboriginal education here in the Northwest Territories, the Government of the Northwest Territories is, and it’s got to be the same, like a hunting right. Aboriginals can hunt anywhere and I believe that same right should extend to education, if anything else, and that’s the kind of flexibility that I was asking the Minister at that time, because even though the parents had left, the young lady was still here for about 11 months. I don’t know if there was a one-year guideline or whatever has to happen there. Maybe the Minister can inform me exactly what guideline or what rule was used for our government and our education system to not support her. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I think the education council was quite open to have this student attend their school. It was just a matter of a home boarding issue.
As a parent, we’re also responsible for our kids. Like, if I send my kid to another community, I feel responsible to support my kid through the transition. I think parents also need to play a part with this. I realize that parents are working out of town, but they need to make prior arrangements, prior arrangements before the school started, because they knew that policies were in place, they needed to work with the superintendent, the education board. If there were issues, then they should have dealt with it before the school started.
Mr. Speaker, I think it’s important that we follow those terms. Our education is one of the best educations, the program that we offer. There is no denial to the student to access school. The school is still there. It’s just the home boarding aspect. We have to keep in mind that there’s a difference there. The education facility is still there and we very much support that as well. Mahsi.
Absolutely, the Minister is correct; we do have a very good education system and that’s exactly why this young lady wanted to continue the education in Fort Simpson. But then again, the rule was so inflexible. The parents left, not the student, Mr. Speaker. In fact, she was left here under the guardianship of her auntie. At the same time, education also means the provision of services to have that education, especially for people from small and remote communities such as was in this case. I would like to ask the Minister again: what exact rule was it? Was it a rule because her parents didn’t live here or was there a firm rule that there is a residency requirement for the student? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, this is the Dehcho Divisional Education Council policy, the residence program that they have. There are certain criteria that they follow and that the parents would have to be residing in the district. So that’s the policy that they fall under and we continue to support those policies that are in place. Then again, if there needs to be some discussion on potential changes, then the MLA can certainly, myself as well can, sit down with the district education authority or the council on how it could be changed. But the final decision lies with the board. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Minister, as the guardian of our education here in the Northwest Territories, I believe that he should take the lead role in trying to talk with our DEAs, DECs, and find some flexibility around these guidelines, because we should not be failing our students, Mr. Speaker. So I would like the Minister to commit to talk with the DEAs and DECs to see if there is a way that we can prevent this in the future, because I certainly would not like to see this happen again. Thank you.
We, too, don’t want to see this happening again in the future, but we must keep in mind that there are certain protocols and policies in place that we must follow as well. We must prepare our students to be successful in the schools. Again, parents’ responsibility, educators and also elected politicians, we do our part, and the department as well. So we’ll continue to make that happen. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
