Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are many reasons why students in Nunakput drop out of school, but my major concern is that they do so because we are not supporting them. If we’re asking kids to stay in school, we need to step up and meet them half way. We need to provide them with resources, moral support, a good school environment, and a safe and reliable place for them to stay and live. So far we’re not providing many of these services and that is a shame.
Currently I have eight students in the Nunakput community of Sachs Harbour who, for various reasons, have left high school in Inuvik and moved back to Sachs Harbour; reasons such as nowhere to live, not enough resources, and no moral support.
This government must get serious about providing an equal standard of schooling all across the Territory, not just in larger centres. The government should provide a teacher immediately so these students can continue their education and earn at least some high school credits this year. Eight students would warrant and justify resources of a teacher in the larger centres or Aurora College. Why are these eight students in Sachs Harbour any different?
I cannot fathom how the government does not have any program initiatives to assist in addressing the high school dropout situation all across the North, especially with so many jobs and careers that now require more and more education. Many students have to leave strong family support networks to larger centres such as Inuvik. Unfortunately, that seems to be a growing trend in many regional centres, that students are finding it harder and harder due to limited resources and changing high school environments.
This is a different time that students are facing. It’s not like when we were in high school. These kids are facing a lot more intense situations these days. A growing number of students are dropping out of high school because of the problems and serious concerns. The inadequacies are the perfect example of discrepancies between the communities and lack of government initiatives and efforts to resolve them. As I expressed in my previous Member’s statements, recent closure of homes in regional centres across the Northwest Territories has emphasized these problems.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Many of us have lived in the North all our lives, or a length of time, and have all heard the challenges, problems and statistics related to students in small, isolated communities. Hearing situations like these makes me wonder if these are some of the causes. Mr. Speaker, I’ll have questions for the Minister of ECE at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
