Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, my question is about the quality of education we are providing in many of our small communities. I have seen very few graduates in the riding I have represented for the last five years.
Is it a problem with the system or is it a question of the lack of resources? I think the answer is both. If you talk to parents and students in the different communities, it takes them a lot longer to go from grade 9 to graduating from grade 12 than other students in the larger centres. One of the reasons is because of the curriculum that is being developed and having the resources to deliver different programs, especially when you are dealing with the math 30s, chemistry and biology and those types of programs, which are not available in many of our small communities.
In some cases, the students are the ones who have to put together or develop their curriculum or course loads. They have to go out and find the materials themselves so they can try to graduate. The frustration you hear from parents in these communities is why is it that it takes a student in the smaller communities somewhere from four to five and a half years to graduate, yet in the larger centres, it is only a matter of three years?
Much of it depends on the number of credits that are needed to be able to graduate from grade 12 and get the course load that you need to go on.
I believe that is one area that has to be looked at. Do you have any statistics regarding the number of graduates and where they are graduating? Why does it take so long for a student from a small community to graduate compared to a student from a large centre?