NUNAVUT
Now is not the time to water down the Education Act, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) says. Instead, the Government of Nunavut should double down on its implementation, something NTI says the GN has failed to do since 2008, when the current act was passed into law.
Annie Oleekatalik, whose favourite subject to teach is Inuktitut language arts, is seen here with her Grade 4 class at Netsilik Ilihakvik in Taloyoak in September 2014. - photo courtesy of Gina Pizzo |
The most glaring example of where precisely the government has failed is basic.
"It has never implemented Article 23 (of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement), the Inuit employment plan, for teachers," said NTI vice-president James Eetoolook.
He says the low number of Inuit teachers means students move through a non-Inuit school system.
"There are 453 non-Inuit teachers compared to about 126 Inuit teachers," he said, educating an estimated 430 non-Inuit students and 9300 Inuit students in Nunavut. By his estimates, which echo government-reported numbers, the ratio of teachers to students is 1:1 for non-Inuit, and 1:74 for Inuit.
As a result, at 43 schools, the teaching language is mainly English.
In a 2006 report regarding the state of the Nunavut land claims implementation, Thomas Berger stated that "the only solution (for low graduation rates), supported by studies and experience from around the world, is a system in which all students learn in their native language and English from kindergarten to Grade 12."
That was 10 years ago.
 | High rate of suicide blamed | 
|
"Non-Inuit teachers are not passing on Inuit culture and identity. The Inuit identity and culture are completely different from other cultures," said Eetoolook.
Nunavut's high rate of suicide among youth is often blamed on the vacuum left behind by loss of language and cultural identity. Youth are crying out for that vacuum to be filled - not by the dominant culture, but their own.
"They need to be taught by Inuit teachers," said Eetoolook.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
NTI has provided almost 40 pages of comments to the Department of Education.
"We have some concerns regarding the new Education Act," Eetoolook said in his understated manner. "Inuktitut language of instruction doesn't need to be changed."
As former Language Commissioner Sandra Inutiq told Nunavut News/North last November, several months before resigning for health reasons, Inuit-language education is a right in Nunavut.
Inutiq was responding to the Special Committee to Review the Education Act report released last November. Iqaluit-Tasiluk MLA and chairperson George Hickes told the legislative assembly Nov. 5 that "the special committee wishes to emphasize that the delivery of an education system is too important to be driven primarily by political idealism. The committee is of the view that the objectives of an education system must be practical, realistic, and attainable."
"The suggestion that it is a choice between language, culture and history or an academic one is a continuation of a colonialist idea that Inuit culture and language is inferior, and cannot be academic," Inutiq responded. Language, culture and academics should not be viewed as mutually exclusive.
"It's a troubling ultimatum. And the English stream is only graduating 25 per cent of the children."
Countering Hickes' statement about political idealism, Eetoolook says the main barrier to successfully implementing the Education Act and Article 23 of the NLCA is the lack of political will.
"NTEP is what the GN relies on to keep pace with training new teachers," South Baffin MLA David Joanasie said. "If the GN and Nunavut Arctic College did more than just NTEP, or (expand the program), it would mean that more beneficiary teachers would become qualified."
The status quo at the moment is to invest heavily in drawing southern teachers up to Nunavut.
The Nunavut Teacher Education Program offers two streams for the bachelor of education. One is a four-year post-secondary program, the other a two-year program for students already holding a bachelor's degree.
Currently, there are degree offerings in seven communities - three Year 1 programs, one Year 2 program and two Year 3 programs. Hall Beach recently graduated a handful of teachers and Iqaluit continuously offers the program.
In 2015, 13 of 14 graduates were Inuit; in 2014, 22 of 23 were.
"Almost all are teaching," said Nunavut Arctic College's Nunatta campus dean Eric Corneau. "Others are employed in the government or have chosen not to go in their field."
Inuktitut is a separate point.
"Some may speak it, but whether or not they have the desire or the skill-set to teach in the language is up to them," Corneau said. "We can't guarantee that they will be fully capable of teaching in Inuktitut."
NTEP offers three language courses and three cultural courses in Inuktitut.
"The reality is there is a loss of language," said Corneau.
All Nunavut Arctic College students are required to take Inuktitut classes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, he said.
But South Baffin MLA David Joanasie is concerned about the number graduating, pointing to the Department of Education's business plan to have 48 new Inuit employees, including 30 new professionals or teachers.
Joanasie wonders if this means "there will be 30 Nunavut Teacher Education Program (NTEP) graduates who will be working in the schools by that time."
Local control is an important facet of Inuit education, but one that has been increasingly eroded over the years. A system that began with regional boards of education, which were abolished in 2000, has devolved to an increasingly centralized authority resting with the Department of Education, comprised predominantly of non-Inuit, and elected Inuit district boards, which lack capacity, funding and support.
"Since before 1999, NTI has always argued that the regional boards of education are essential for local control," Eetoolook said.
"A Nunavut-wide board of education was proposed to replace the regional boards, but the Nunavut government never created that board. District education authorities have not been adequately funded to perform their duties."
Currently the Government of Nunavut is seeking to remove responsibilities from already hampered district authorities, to pass them on to GN-run regional schools operations.
"So we are losing control. It's being eliminated," he said.
"(The boards) are vital to the education of our children. District education authorities should be properly trained and funded, rather than taking away their responsibility. This has worked in the past and we'd like to see that continue."
Eetoolook says NTI's position is not that English be removed from the curriculum.
"We're saying Inuktitut should be taught, and not in bits and pieces," said Eetoolook.
The Department of Education declined to participate in this story.
Nunavut News/North requested comments from five regular members of the legislative assembly. Only Joanasie and Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu MLA Pat Angnakak responded.
"I would like to take some time to see what the proposed changes are and how the process plays out before making any comments," Angnakak said, adding, "there has been much said on the issue by Nunavummiut."
