Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment some questions regarding Aurora College. As the Minister may know, students with disabilities have plans set in place while they are in school for their success. As well, it helps them prepare when they get on to post-secondary school. Does the Minister know if Aurora College has a plan or a policy in place that deals with students with disabilities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do agree that developing these kind of plans for individuals and students right from K to 12 to post-secondary is very important and we need to look at those kinds of options moving forward. Yes, the college does have a number of policies designed to assist students in post-secondary. We have barrier-free facilities, so all of our campuses include accommodating persons with physical challenges.
We also have inclusive approaches for students when they do get into colleges, but also in terms of making sure that admissions and applications presents fair and equitable considerations for all students, so there are a few programs in place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Minister for his answer. Does the Minister know how each campus implements these plans and policies in place?
I did mention that our three campuses do have these policies in place. I don't have the detailed information, but I can get that information for the Member. We also have 26 community learning centres that also follow these policies, and as mentioned, I can get some more of those details for the Member.
I thank the Minister for his answer. However, I'd like to really get into depth with these students who have learning disabilities, and how the college actually implements their plans. Does the college actually look at down south and how they're implementing these plans? Because I know if we go to Grande Prairie, they actually have a process where they guarantee success of their students.
Yes, when we go through developing our policies we also review the Canadian post-secondary policies and look at what's going on down south. We've got to ensure that any students that are going post-secondary that might need assistance, whether it's financial or whether physical challenges, that they self-identify and let the institutions know what might be some of their challenges to get that education they need. We need all parties to be onboard with this. But yes, in terms of the question, we do look at other policies when we do our review.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for his answer. I know from personal experience that I've had individuals who have self-declared their disability. I've had the college say, “Well, we can work with you when it fits into our schedule,” and unfortunately, these individuals do not succeed. However, if they were down south when they do this, there is a policy, there's an action plan in place that actually guarantees these people with disabilities success. Therefore, will the Minister commit that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the college will review their existing policies and plans and enhance it to reflect the policies of other jurisdictions so we can guarantee success for our people who have disabilities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I do agree that we need to see some successes moving forward with people that are living with disabilities that want to get that post-secondary education. We want to look at ways that we can make it easier for them to access programs, get into post-secondary college, and offer the supports that they do need. I can advise the Member that the college does review these policies on a regular basis and as I mentioned earlier, they look at other jurisdictions and Canadian institutions for the best practices moving forward. I can work with the department and the colleges and learning centres to see how well they're being implemented and how we can better make those policies reflect what is needed with our residents.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
