Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Dec 07/01) - Education Minister Jake Ootes made no commitment to address Fort Simpson's particular education concerns while paying a visit last Tuesday evening.

Jake Ootes, minister of Education, fields questions from members of the district education authority and parents regarding some long-standing issues in Fort Simpson. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

During a public meeting, District Education Authority (DEA) chair Shane Thompson bluntly stated that high pupil-teacher ratios, the inclusive school policy and a lack of funding for French programming are major hindrances.

"My kids are getting, pardon the language, screwed out of an education ... they (teachers) are managing our kids. They're not teaching them because of our large classroom sizes," Thompson said. "You talk about suicide, you talk about jail, you talk about unemployment, it all comes down to our education system."

The inclusive schooling policy results in students graduating to the next grade despite, in some cases, having abilities below grade level.

Parent Pearl Norwegian told Ootes, "You guys are just pushing our kids through school, and then when they go to Edmonton (for higher education) they're back to square one."

Ootes said his department has been making steady progress in reducing the pupil-teacher ratio across the NWT, lowering it from 18:1 a few years ago to 16.5:1 presently.

"Over a four-year period we will make quite a dent in this system," Ootes said. "I feel confident we are on the right track."

No difference here

Teacher Kim Hardisty said she is tired of hearing about the average NWT pupil-teacher ratio, which isn't reflected in her classroom. She said she's never had fewer than 20 students at a time.

Ootes acknowledged that there are aberrations, but reiterated that things are getting better. He promised to continue fighting for more education funding.

"It's not acceptable what we're at. The issues you have here are legitimate issues. I have a real challenge ahead of me," he said.

"As a government, we've gone a long way ... we are spending more and more money. There's no doubt about it if you look at the figures," he said.

"There has to be recognition that it's not an unlimited fund ... (and) I can't be community specific. I hope you understand that."

Rita Cazon, a Fort Simpson resident who served on the Local Education Authority in 1985, said she's heard the same promises for many years.

"It was just lip service, and that's all it was," she said following Ootes' visit. Cazon suggested that MLAs should take a pay cut if education funds are so badly needed. She also said education meetings, like one a few weeks ago, shouldn't be held in places like Banff, Alta., which is too costly.

"Part of our treaty is to get the best education and that's what we'd like to see," she said.