Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to bring some emphasis to a policy issue within the Education department, a policy which will affect the post-secondary aspirations of our high school students. I think Members know that the NWT high school curriculum follows that of Alberta and I ask why then do our policies not do the same.
Last September, Alberta Education, in a misguided move, determined that French second language exams could only be written by students taking those courses, that other students could not challenge the exam. Not surprisingly, NWT Education followed Alberta’s lead and we also removed the challenge provision for French second language courses from NWT students. But Alberta, once they fully realized the full implications of their new policy, rightfully reversed their policy decision one month later and they returned to their original situation.
NWT Education, however, did not. Our students are now at a disadvantage in comparison to their Alberta counterparts, and to what end? For what purpose? Any NWT student proficient in French is prohibited from gaining a potential extra credit, an extra credit that could make or break their acceptance to university or other post-secondary institutions.
Some schools require a high school language credit for entrance into a particular program and those same schools may not recognize an immersion language course, for instance, for that credit.
In addition, a student can be very proficient in French, a French-first language student, for instance, and they may not need to take a French second language course. They already have the skills, yet they cannot now challenge the exam to get their needed credits for graduation.
It’s hard enough for NWT students to compete for spots in post-secondary schools. This just makes it harder, Mr. Speaker. At a time when we should be helping out students achieve the greatest success possible, when they are embarking on a significant new direction in their lives, we are throwing up roadblocks for them to try to get over.
I’ve tried many times to understand the department’s rationale. I’ve considered this issue in the last several weeks and I can see no valid reason for this policy change. Why are we doing this, Mr. Speaker?
I will have this and other questions for the Minister of Education at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
