Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when COVID19 shut down our schools, we know that it was difficult for all students. Many students struggled to attend online, online classes and keep up with the work. Now that we are out of the pandemic, we see the real effects that COVID19 had on our education of our youth and our children. My concern, Mr. Speaker, is for the youth that were in high school during the pandemic, when the schools closed and opened and closed and then opened and went online and those are the concerns that I have.
What do we know about these youth? Do we know the impact that it caused these youth? I am concerned about the rate of attendance and if Indigenous students from small communities, regional centres were at a higher number, if they weren't attending or not able to access schooling online? And did they complete the required work? I know in my community that there are students, through the challenges of COVID19, struggled and some unable to graduate high school.
Mr. Speaker, we have young adults who are challenged to keep up with school during the pandemic. Now they are young adults without a high school education or, some may say, a watereddown education as they were exempt from having to complete parts of their courses and even exempt from writing some of their exams. How can we support these youth? What programs are available?
Mr. Speaker, this is our future workforce, our labour pool. These are our future polytechnic university students, our affirmative action employees, but what does their future look like without a high school education? We know young adults are struggling to complete their education and so how is the GNWT investing in this success? I'll have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
