Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think the area that Mr. Nitah is speaking of is a very important one for all of the communities here in the Northwest Territories. It really relates to stability in the teacher system, and ensuring that teacher turnover is kept to a minimum. There is no doubt that has a great impact upon a community when we have a turnover. It affects the students, it affects the community all the way around. Wherever possible, we need to ensure that turnover concern is addressed.
It was brought up during the Minister's Forum on Education and it has been on the agenda for the DECs and DEAs. There have been ongoing discussions. It is of great concern. There is certainly merit in what Mr. Nitah is stating about cross-cultural training. I know of the importance of that, not from a personal perspective, but rather from what I have been told, that the teachers and educators that go into the communities understand the local culture, the local desires, and the local wishes of the people. Cross-cultural training is an important element of that.
I should mention that teacher turnover, while it was significantly higher several years ago, it is always unacceptable. It is above ten percent. This year, I believe it may be at 14 percent. It was at 17 or 18 percent several years ago. Where the turnover seems to be occurring, when I looked at this, was in specific pockets. There are various reasons for that: difficulties with such things as housing in a community, but also acceptance by the individual of the community and by the community of the individual.
Part of our effort has been to put into effect the Teacher Induction Program, which is a step along the way of what Mr. Nitah is speaking of. That is a program that has a multi-level approach. Number one is that the teacher is given information about the community, be it a teacher from the north or the south, where the teacher will be an educator in.
Upon arrival, the teacher is inducted into the community and introduced to people and vice versa, that people meet the teacher. From there, it is a professional development approach of the teacher ensuring that they participate in professional development conferences. More importantly is a mentorship program that we have introduced, someone who has been at the school that is assigned to assist the new teacher.
There is also, of course, that whole element of involvement in the community, that people feel a part of the community. I think that is the concern that Mr. Nitah is speaking of, and I think he has a very good point. Thank you.