Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (July 17/02) - Graduates of Nunavut Sivuniksavut (NS) are firmly behind plans to expand the transition program into a two-year course of study beginning September 2003.

"So many students have gotten so much out of the program and they want more," said Ashley Dean, a student from Rankin Inlet who completed the program this spring.

NS takes 22 Inuit students from Nunavut every year, transplants them to Ottawa and puts them through courses in Inuit history, land claims, English, computers and business.

The program serves as a transitional year between high school and post-secondary education.

Dean's support for extending the program isn't surprising, since a push for change started with students. Two years ago, NS graduates gathered for a conference on the program's 15-year anniversary. One of their suggestions was to make NS a year longer.

Jeffrey Tulugak, another student from Rankin who graduated this year, said a second year would allow students to concentrate more firmly on academic pursuits.

"In the first year it's mostly about new experiences and having habits different from up here," he said. "I think it would be easier to focus on learning" the second year.

Tulugak said he learned that the next few years will see many new job opportunities.

"There are lots of jobs opening up for beneficiaries -- lots of jobs for politicians," he said.

Although plans for expansion are still preliminary, instructor Murray Angus said second-year courses would expand on studies of Inuit history and land claims. Students would also spend more time sampling university life in courses at Carleton University and Algonquin College, under which NS is accredited.

The program currently costs about $450,000 a year. That money is cobbled together from a smattering of sources, including NTI, the three Inuit development corporations and several government departments.

Angus said funding sources have not yet been contacted about the idea of pushing toward a second year.

"Everything hinges on financing. That's the most unanswered question," he said.