Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if he’s talked with his department… There was a young student I talked with a few weeks ago. I wanted to ask the student what the best thing about going to school is. Do you know what the student said to me, Mr. Speaker? He said, “Leaving.” I just went, “What?”
What is the Minister’s department doing to keep the students in the school rather than to leave right away?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.
I’m not sure what leaving right away would mean in the school system, whether that is during class or when they leave school. We want each and every child, 8,000 students across the Northwest Territories to graduate with the credentials that they can move on to further education with. There are some challenges we are faced with today. That’s the whole reason we are developing Education Renewal and Innovation, so we can capture those individual students who may be struggling, whether it is with issues at home or personal issues they have encountered. Part of the ERI is to capture the wellness of our students and deal with those matters, so we have to work with the district education councils or authorities. They have the ultimate decision when it comes to students in their jurisdictions, whether it is the community or the region. We will continue to deliver that message to them as well. Mahsi
I do apologize to the Minister. I was talking about hoping the student would say something that would get them to stay in school or something exciting, but he was looking forward to leaving the school every day. So I want to know what type of programs are in place in the schools, such as sporting events, that make students go to school and stay in school and have their school be a fun place to go to.
Has the Minister looked at any type of program such as sports and the days of the TEST program where there were sporting events that kept students in school and measured their success by also having them perform in sports?
Obviously, there are all kinds of extracurricular activities that are happening within our school systems throughout the Northwest Territories. There are 49 schools. Some may not offer full-fledged sports programs, but we continue to work with Municipal and Community Affairs dealing with sports and also the youth and how we can best deliver programs. We have been dealing with some of the community leadership. They take on the task, my department, of working with DECs and also MACA to deliver some of the fundamental sports programs that youth can be engaged in, especially youth who don’t have anything happening in their community. So, there are various programs within a community that can be highlighted through my department. I can share some of the highlights with the Members when it comes to sports and other activities, programs that DECs and DEAs offer. Thank you.
I have looked at some of the activities going on in the small communities, extracurricular activities that could support students in their education, also their health and wellness. Some of the small communities are doing very well at the territorial level in sports such as basketball, volleyball and soccer.
Is this part of their school programming that can be supported with their educational goals in the small communities?
Yes, these are some of the additional activities, extracurricular activities that the coaches get involved in, and the teachers, volunteers at the community level. The after-school physical activity program is also part of the GNWT Healthy Choices initiative. Obviously, there is some funding attached to it to provide schools with after-school physical activities, upwards of $765,000. That is $650,000 for after-school physical activity programming and $150,000 for the healthy snacks component of the program. We feel this is very important for students to be actively engaged in sports and extracurricular activities. We will continue to support those activities as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has the department ever come to the point where they do a pilot project such as they’ve done in Inuvik with the TEST program, with students in sports or on-the-land activities within education so these students can develop into world-class athletes? Has there ever been a program since they did theirs in Inuvik with the TEST program? Has there been any thought to that?
I will have to find out exactly when that last occurred. I will follow up with the Member on the detailed information. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
