Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to written question asked by Mr. Yakeleya on February 9, 2011, regarding practicum placements for northern students.
Provide a list of all the post-secondary educational institutions that enable our northern students to do their practicum in the North.
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment does not have such a list as this is outside our scope and responsibility. Post-secondary institutions are responsible for the standards and delivery of their respective programs including practicum placements. Individual institutions have the authority to establish the requirements students must meet to graduate.
Some of the post-secondary institutions that have provided practicum placements in the Northwest Territories include the National School of Dental Therapy, the University of Alberta, Aurora College, Faculte St. Jean, and Nipissing University. Through these partnerships, students have completed practicum placements in the areas of education, social work and dental therapy.
Provide a work plan and implementation schedule that would show how the Grande Prairie College and our Education department help our northern students begin their work experience placement in the North.
I am aware that a student from the Sahtu, who is attending Grande Prairie College, wanted to complete a practicum placement in the Sahtu. Despite support from the Sahtu Divisional Education Council, Grande Prairie College was not able to agree to an offset placement at this time. Grande Prairie College indicated that their practicum placement requires that the teaching assistant student be supervised twice weekly by program faculty and that the student must attend ongoing seminars throughout the practicum.
Without the ability to provide distance education video conferencing, it is not possible to complete placements in the Sahtu at this time. However, Grande Prairie College indicated that they are very interested in pursuing this option in the future. We are interested in supporting practicum placements in the Northwest Territories that are supportive of the post-secondary education institutions that have the authority to establish practicums as part of their graduation requirements.
I agree that it is valuable for our students to complete their practicum experiences here in the Northwest Territories. I would encourage students to take advantage of these opportunities when they are available. Students should research potential programs and options for placement prior to enrolment.
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment will continue to work with divisional education councils and other organizations to encourage and accommodate requests from students and post-secondary institutions in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
