One of the biggest themes we see this time of year as we celebrate high school and post high school graduates is embracing your future, finding your passions, and finding your place in this world.
Given the many challenges faced by students in the north, this is not always easy, but the students of Nunavummiut continue to prove that where there is a will, there is a way.
In 2011 Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) published the National Inuit Education Strategy. With this document as a framework, the last decade of hard work has resulted in many improvements in educational outcomes.
High school graduation rates continue to improve, with more Inuit students attending colleges, universities, and business schools than ever before.
The Canadian Bureau of Statistics reported in 2016 that 41 percent of Inuit graduated from high school. Among the Inuit living within the Inuit Nunangat, 28.2 percent reported a post-secondary degree, compared with 53.3 percent of the Inuit living outside the Inuit Nunangat.
“It works, but not fully,” says Peesee Pitsiulak, dean of Nunatta Campus at Nunavut Arctic College and a member of the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework’s Task Force on Northern Post-Secondary Education.
She also says that Nunavut’s curriculum is more culturally relevant to Nunavummiut than ever before.
Inuit language teaching has been recognized as a priority and curricula will be developed over the next five years to introduce Inuit language art teaching to schools across the territory. Bill 25 was widely viewed as not enough and not soon enough, but Education Minister David Joanasie noted in a 2019 interview that Nunavut still needs to build capacity with Inuktut-speaking teachers, along with a host of other complications, including further revision of the Curricula and even the development of more infrastructure – space to teach the growing population.
However, going to school in the Territory is fraught with mixed feelings.
“I think this is where we have to challenge Nunavummiut in general and society in general,” said Joanasie. “The pursuit of education. A look at our attendance rate. In historical context, this is an issue that we must continue to address.
“We want our children and students to want to go to school, to have this determination, this drive and the motivation. I think we as a department, as a government, would like to have this space and this environment for learning. “
The other problem is choice. Students from Nunavummiut and the North deserve to have programs to enroll in that offer them personal and professional development with no focus only on preparing them for entry into government or industrial workers. Hopefully the new university in ICT development will help fill some of these gaps.
Decolonizing education by ensuring that students have access to culturally relevant studies in Inuktut and English will help students find deeper meaning in their learning and prepare them for success.
Art education is also important as it gives young people and adults the opportunity to connect with themselves and their culture through music, traditional and contemporary arts and crafts.
Joanasie said, “I as a leader and the government want to attract, motivate and say that education is limitless, Nunavummiut. If you look at it as a gift that you always pass on, or something that will help you for the rest of your life – I think this is where people can take responsibility and follow their passions. “
Congratulations to the 2021 class on their successes so far, getting a degree in the midst of a pandemic is not an easy task! May the next steps you take help you achieve your goals for yourself and your communities.
source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/education-on-an-upward-path/
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