Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, on my left is Mr. Mark Cleveland, assistant deputy minister for Culture and Careers and on my right, Mr. Paul Devitt who is the director of finance and administration.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to get some information from the Minister on the practice of high school graduates graduating after the exams have been done. A concern was raised in the community I represent that, during the graduation ceremonies, although there appears to be a

large number of graduates, that actually is not the fact. Is there a policy or standard in that area? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, each board sets its own policy for when the graduation ceremonies are held. It has been common practice in many jurisdictions in North America, to hold grad ceremonies in the spring even though the final marks are typically not back for the grads. There are some jurisdictions that have chosen to have their grad ceremonies in the fall. For instance, I know I was invited to a grad ceremony in Rankin, during the Thanksgiving weekend this past fall. They decided to have their grad ceremonies following receipt of the final marks. It is a decision that is left up to each of the boards.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Once again in the area of graduates, the concern raised is not the timing of when the ceremonies are, it is the number of people actually taking part in the ceremony as graduates having to come back the following year to finish off their courses. Again, that lends to the concern of the quality of the certificate when it is given out. Is there anything there when it comes to the actual graduating class and do you have to be graduating that year? Is that a policy of this government or of the boards? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A grad ceremony which takes place before marks are back is just a ceremony. The graduation certificates are only signed and distributed after a person has actually achieved the 100 credits necessary for graduation to officially take place. The statistics that the department uses are based on successful completion of graduation and not in any way based on the number of people who participate in a ceremony. I think it is important we understand that the ceremonial occasion does not necessarily mean all of the requirements for successful graduation have been met.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My concern is not only with the graduation process itself, but the quality of it and lending to that concern would be the idea of the automatic pass system. I know that would not affect the actual graduation itself, the certificate, because you have to achieve the 100 credits. For the rest of the program, you are allowed to follow up through the system, is that a policy of this government?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. No, the government does not set a policy in that area. It is left again to each of the divisional education councils to set their own policy.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the graduation rate for aboriginal students more than doubled in the period of 1991-1995. The overall graduation rate has not doubled but has continued to increase over that period of time, probably in the area of five to ten percent, I would guess.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The number that carry on to post-secondary studies will take some time to be provided to this committee. In response to the Member's first part of the question, the participation rate is a measure of how many eligible students are attending school. So, in 1991, we had just over 40 percent of those who should be in school attending school. In this year, we have over 80 percent of those who are of school age actually attending school. The graduation rate will not automatically increase because you have to remember that a number of students will have come back into the system in Grades 10 and 11 and will not yet have achieved graduation. So, there will be a lag of two or three years behind the increase in the participation rate to the graduation rate.