Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. I am proud to be standing here to speak about the Dechinta Bush University today. I have many constituents who have completed the seven-week programming at the Blachford Lodge and are furthering their own communities.
We as the Government of the Northwest Territories have been growing up with the onset of devolution, and so should our education system. Canada is the only circumpolar country without a circumpolar university. I believe strongly, as the board of directors of the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning who operate the Dechinta Bush University, that it is time for us to establish a full-time accredited university in the Northwest Territories.
Since its inception in 2009, the Dechinta University has successfully provided land-based post-secondary education in the Northwest Territories. Dechinta is accredited by the University of Alberta and the University of McGill, which means the diplomas granted are from them. The Dechinta University cannot grant a northern diploma without first being empowered by the Education Act of the Northwest Territories.
I do want to acknowledge that they are being financially supported by the departments of Education, MACA, ENR, but for the most part, and gratefully so, is also privately funded by foundations.
The Premier of the NWT has been on record for saying that we need made-in-the-North solutions, and here we have a real made-in-the-North solution to establishing a recognized and accredited university in the Northwest Territories.
I challenge the Minister of Education to also support and create this made-in-the-North solution to a post-secondary education. Certainly, we do have the Aurora College which provides excellent service; however, we are not complete as an education system unless we have a university we can call our own.
Dechinta has to be recognized in our Education Act to be an accredited institution that can fully grant major and minor diplomas to our Northerners. In the past five years they have proven that university-calibre education can be taught in the Northwest Territories. They have also proven that there is demand for it. For the past three years, applications are far exceeding the spaces available. Students that are applying believe that they should not have to leave the North to pursue a degree relevant to their future, unless it is their choice. With this interest, Northerners do want to be educated in the North.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
In closing, we have to take the opportunity to empower ourselves as a territory by providing a truly complete northern education system. We must consider seriously the efforts of the Dechinta Bush University to offer to ourselves and to the world a truly unique major and minor diploma programming. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to start off by saying that was nice to see the NWT Teachers’ Association set up their display and their meet-and-greet in the Great Hall this morning. They do it every year to talk about the successes and the great work of their educators.
I’d like to recognize all the educators throughout the North, but take this opportunity to recognize a certain group that does extraordinary work, and that’s the staff at the Dechinta Bush University. They have taken a very unique approach in promoting our traditional knowledge, culture and education throughout the Northwest Territories and getting participants from all the regions. They actually utilize a lot of our elders to promote and revitalize culture and traditions, something that is needed within this government, while also working on other academic achievements.
I’d just like to mention a few highlights Dechinta has done over the years. First of all, they’re celebrating their five-year anniversary of land-based, university-accredited education. As my colleague Mr. Menicoche said, they’re getting more applications than the funding that they have to meet these growing needs and people that want to go to school and get educated. Not only educated in the academic sense but also educated in traditional knowledge and culture, which is something that’s being lost in some of the regions. This year alone, 97 people applied for 30 places, and for the spring they’ve had 34 applications and only 10 spots, so that means 24 other people are losing out on this very important education.
Dechinta has been operating in the NWT since 2009, and in that time they have had 250 course completions – and listen to this – and no dropouts during that time. You compare that to our education system, you can compare that to Aurora College system, compare that to any post-secondary education institution that we send students to down south, and this is 100 percent completion rates. That goes to show that we need to support this university in a bigger and better way. In fact, 10 people are in this program for the springtime and yet we’re spending millions of dollars on programs in the Aurora College system and we’re not even close to those numbers for certain programs. We’ve got to re-evaluate how we’re spending those dollars.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
There are a lot of good statistics and highlights that I’d like to recommend. I don’t have the time to do it at this moment, but what I do want to do at this moment is just thank Dechinta staff for their commitment to the delivery of quality education, traditional knowledge and culture, and utilizing our elders to do this, and also recognize them for the passion that they do in providing this work and for their dedication in making a difference in the lives of people across the Northwest Territories and in our young adults who are wanting to get an education and go back to school.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Ms. Bisaro.
