Mr. Speaker, I have a return to written question asked by Mr. Lafferty on October 25, 2005, regarding adult literacy in the NWT.
1. Could the Minister tell me how much funding went to adult literacy basic education through Aurora College?
In the years 2004-05 and 2005-06 the Department of Education, Culture and Employment contributed $4.1 million per year to Aurora College for adult literacy and basic education. This includes $700,000 in Literacy Strategy funding.
2. How much did Aurora College actually spend on the Literacy Strategy for each community last year?
In 2004-05, Aurora College spent $700,000 in Literacy Strategy funds for ALBE in the communities. At the appropriate time today, I will table a breakdown of ALBE spending by community. The Literacy Strategy funds are directed primarily to communities that previously lacked funding for adult basic education programs.
3. Can the Minister give an explanation for the enrolment data to include completion rates in the Adult Basic Education Program for 2004-05 by community?
In 2004-05, 38 percent of the 651 ALBE students enrolled in Aurora College courses completed their course levels. Included in the tabled information I have referred to earlier, is a complete breakdown of ALBE enrolments and percentage completion rates. Completion rates for ALBE programming have historically been highly variable and are dependent on a range of factors.
4. Can the Minister provide information on total budget allocation for various literacy funds under the Literacy Strategy, and the amount each community receives through the various literacy funds available through the strategy?
Funding for community literacy is accessible through the community literacy development fund administered by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. The total NWT Literacy Strategy budget allocation for 2005-06 was $2.460 million. I have included a breakdown of literacy funding allocations by community in the information I am tabling today.
5. Can the Minister provide information on what has been done to follow up on the recommendation of the internal evaluation of the NWT Literacy Strategy and the government's response to the recommendations on the internal evaluation?
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Aurora College and other partners have been working diligently to address the recommendations presented by the NWT Literacy Strategy interim evaluation.
An evaluation of the Literacy Strategy is scheduled for spring 2006. The recommendations presented in the interim evaluation will be utilized as a starting point for this evaluation, which will result in the development of a revised and renewed Literacy Strategy for the NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.