Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just like what Mr. Hawkins said, to my favorite Minister, ECE, but housing is still my favorite. So, Mr. Speaker, so this is for the ECE. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member's statement, attendance rates in small communities for junior kindergarten to grade 12 is on the downward trend when you look at the data over the last ten years. Aside from COVID19, can the Minister explain the reasons why school attendance rates are trending downward? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. Minister for Education, Culture and Employment. Yes, ECE.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, attendance has long been a concern for education bodies across the territory and have put in different mechanisms to try to address attendance over the years, but as the Member stated in her statement today, there is definitely a huge concern for attendance across the territory in today's world as well. And so this is really a situation and a challenge that is going to have to be addressed not only by teachers, principals, education bodies, but by communities as a whole and by a territory as a whole. Thank you.
Yes, thank you. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain what efforts that I mean, I'm going to her answer's going to be the same thing, but what efforts the Department of ECE has done over the years to help increase and maintain attendance rates of schools particularly in small communities? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, different education bodies have used different tactics because they see their challenges as being unique in communities across the territory. Many of our well, all of our schools have food programs to try and incentivize youth to come to school for that reason. Some education bodies send busses around the communities to pick students up from their home and bring them to the school. And, of course, teachers have come up with unique ways to try and incentivize attendance in schools and that could be anything from choosing subjects that are important to students. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain if the department has any plan moving forward to help increase attendance rates in schools, especially in the small community? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm to the Member that this is a holding topic at meetings with the education bodies, with the chairs, across the territory and is frequently discussed. Mr. Speaker, I can also confirm for the Member that this is something that is very important to me because we can it doesn't matter how much money we invest in education, if students around attending school then we cannot improve our education outcomes as a territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to provide more departmental resources to and work with closely with district education authorities and divisional education councils across the NWT to help increase attendance rates in small communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I commit to working with education bodies to understand how I can support their needs to improve attendance across the territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
