Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the example I gave for the Grade 10 students was illustrated that we had 361 students. Simple math tells me that when $1.8 million is divided into 13 Baffin communities with something like 20 or 21 schools and a student population well over 2,000, well, over 3,000 I believe is the figure I have seen, $1.8 million is not very much money when you look at a textbook that is $44 for each student. I am not here to debate the Minister, I am just bringing up information that has come forward from the divisional board of education and I take it at face value that they are having problems delivering education and having the teachers going out and buying textbooks and equipment for their classrooms out of their own pockets. We have letters attesting to that. We have a case of Shuvinai Mike, and I will say her name publicly because she sent the letter publicly, who for the last couple of years has been teaching, I believe it is, over 200 students at Inukshuk High School, one teacher who has to develop her own institute curriculum. That is not acceptable.
What they do have at the board level, Mr. Chairman, is they come up with theme units and they introduce a theme unit. Then it is up to the instructor to go out and find themes on polar bears or families, or whatever it is going to be, and then she has to translate that into English. Most of the work that has gone into development of a curriculum in Inuktitut, as an example, has gone to the K to 6 level. There is practically almost nothing available for Grades 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. That lady has now resigned her position from the divisional board of education teaching because of burnout and stress. I know that the Minister is aware of it because he has seen the letter and so has Mr. Cleveland.
All I am trying to point out, Mr. Chairman, that the formula that Mr. Dent talks about is not meeting the needs of textbooks and is not meeting the needs of the teachers. My second question to the Minister is, what does the Department of Education need to see or if they had a wish list what would they ask for? Would Mr. Dent, for example, we have got instructions from Mr. Todd telling us that if this House gives direction, then the government will move in and Mr. Ootes pointed out earlier and maybe we can find money? What does the Department need? Does the Department have some magic figure that they need? Do they need $5 million? Do they need $10 million? Mr. Chairman, if you could ask my compatriots, sitting in some of the wrong chairs, to stay quiet when you are trying to address a question, I would appreciate it. Mr. Chairman, my question to the Minister of Education is, what does the department need in dollar terms to facilitate some of these concerns, like the math curriculum, at the community and local level? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.