Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to ask a question. My question will be to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment just to help build a little further on our theme day for education, Mr. Speaker. First I should say, once again, thank you to the Bureau of Stats for their great assistance in helping me with this question because their details, I couldn’t live without.
In 2012-13 in grades 10 to 12 we had 2,582 students enrolled. However, current details tell us that only 437 students graduated. That’s approximately 50 percent if we just work the math through and divide the three grades into that first calculation. What it’s basically saying is we have a 50 percent graduation rate in the Northwest Territories.
We all know how important education is. I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment as to what his department is doing to create incentives for children to go to school so that they ensure that they graduate, so that they do have a future that is so promising for them, we have a future that they can engage in.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Again, I have to reflect on the whole Education Renewal and Innovation. It is a very broad sector. This will obviously capture the graduation of our students across the Northwest Territories. Some of the areas of which we are aiming and also our goals and objectives are obviously to improve the overall academic achievement of all students, 8,000 students, 49 schools across the Northwest Territories. We also want to increase the number. The Member touched on the 50 percent. Obviously, we want to reach 80 percent or plus, but that will take some time.
Also, improving literacy. Mr. Yakeleya talked about literacy and numeracy skills of all students. Also, helping them gain employment or even further post-secondary, improving achievement and employment through student wellness and student engagement. These are just some of the key components that we currently will be delivering with the Education Renewal and Innovation and I’m looking forward to making those changes.
The Minister just said he would hope for 80 percent. Well, actually, I hope we have 100 percent graduation rates. Unlike the Minister had just said, I hope that every child has the future and that they work through graduation. You can’t get a job with the military or the RCMP these days that people used to go through with grades 10, 11 and 12. You need a minimum of Grade 12.
The specific question to the Minister of Education is: What incentives are put in through the education program to encourage our youth to fulfil their obligation by getting through the education system and all the way to the end by graduating?
The Member is referring to 100 percent. Obviously, I agree with that, but it takes a whole community. It just takes the Department of Education to graduate these individuals. We have to gain support and a push from the parents, a push from the community members, the leaders. We’ve had some challenges along the way. Yes, we’re at a 50 percent margin right now, but obviously our goal is to increase that through the Education Renewal and Innovation. I have just captured some of the key points that we will be delivering, working with our stakeholders. We can’t forget that the district education council and authority are our key partners, and also the parents and grandparents as well.
The Minister says it takes a community, but it also takes leadership at the Minister’s office. What is the Minister doing to engage the students to find out what types of incentives they need to be partners in their own future? Not just the parents, not just the district education authorities and not just everybody in the ivory tower at the buildings downtown.
What are the students being talked to and engaged about? What it would take for them to want to graduate? Is the Minister doing that outreach and what is the outreach determining?
There are so many initiatives that my department is working on. When we were at NWT Days in Ottawa we also met with university students from the Northwest Territories. Obviously we want them to come back to our Northwest Territories and work for us. It was a very productive meeting and we’re going to continue to do that. Every time we travel to other provincial jurisdictions, we want to meet with the students. We care for the students. We want them to come back. We support them. There is the Education Renewal and Innovation that’s happening that will capture three years of action plan. Also, the Skills for Success is another prime initiative that our students should be fully aware of, and we are promoting that, as well, into our school system. The Aboriginal Student Achievement was the start of our engagement with the youth and students. That was a few years back. Now we continue to push that forward. The whole Education Renewal and Innovation will certainly capture that.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Mr. Speaker, I’m not hearing anything from that last answer that specifically points to what they’re doing. The Minister said there are so many initiatives. Name clearly one initiative that is engaged with the students to find out what’s important to them to encourage them to proceed towards graduation.
This is such an important thing that our students get a graduation certificate, because their future counts on it. We can only go backwards so far and hope and dream and pray and plead with them that they graduate, but we must get them involved in this solution.
Name one clear thing that the department has done, the Minister has done to build engagement with the students so that we work towards 100 percent graduation.
The Education Renewal and Innovation has engaged students in a wide variety of ways. We want to hear their perspectives, their experience, what they’re faced with, whether it be in high school, whether it be in post-secondary, because from their feedback we want to make productive choices and make some changes with our Education Act and programming. We’ll continue to push that forward. This is not the only time. There will be plenty of opportunities to engage our students across the Northwest Territories, the 8,000 students. We want them to be successful. We are creating all these different initiatives along the way, and as part of the initiatives the ERI will be creating incentives for these students to return to the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 8, written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to opening address. Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 5 on the orders of the day.
---Unanimous consent granted
