Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My Member's statement today is in regard to the state of education in our small communities. Mind you, what I have noted is that it is almost taboo to discuss education on a public level in our communities. Public meetings to discuss education and any initiatives have not been initiated by the school, the school boards, nor by the divisional education councils that represent the schools throughout the region.
No one seems to mind that the attendance rates are dropping, the graduation rates are not flourishing as they should be, and the fact that the academic level of education has gone by the wayside. Couple this with the fact that our schools have had to lay off good quality teachers. It is alarming that no one wants to make an issue of what can be deemed a crisis situation regarding the state of education in our small communities.
I would like to draw your attention to a Department of Education, Culture and Employment document entitled "Education Renewal and Innovation Framework, Directions for Change." It is a three-year education renewal action plan created in 2015 by the department. The document goes on to state, "The current approach to education is not producing the overall levels of student achievement that we need and should reasonably expect for the investments that are being made." The document further states, "This renewal is critical to developing the capable citizens the Northwest Territories needs."
The document presents nine major action plan commitments that the Government of the Northwest Territories will ensure to undertake to improve the quality of education in our communities. It is a very bold and determined document. Unfortunately, this is the first time I have seen the document, and it is now 2019, four years later. I would further be dismayed, and rightly so, if the district education councils have not seen or had any chance to action the initiatives outlined in the Renewal Action Plan.
It is not clear if people in the communities were consulted or presented with the action plan. Had this happened, there certainly would have been measurable outcomes and the GNWT would have been on the hook to see these commitments through. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted