Aurora College recently announced that it鈥檚 closing its 19 community learning centres (CLCs). Whoa!

Are you wondering, 鈥淲hat about all of the people who need upgrading?鈥� So am I!

Meanwhile, in 2022, the Department of Education Culture and Employment (ECE) was saying they wanted the learning centres to have an increased role in their post-secondary system.

So, what happened? In 2022, a GNWT-appointed administrator was running the college. The following year, the xollege鈥檚 independent board of governors took over and they recently voted to close the learn centres at the end of June.

Apparently, there are 19 CLCs that offer services to 22 full-time and 30 part-time students. The college says the learning centres cost $6.7 million last year, so it鈥檚 not worth the time and effort to keep them open.

All I can say is that Aurora College and ECE better work together on a good plan to upgrade the poorly-educated people in the NWT, who are primarily Indigenous.

Dismal graduation rates

According to Statistics Canada, our graduation rates are 20 per cent lower than the Canadian average. Breaking that down, small communities' graduation rates are 44 per cent compared to Yellowknife at 71 per cent. Regional centres are at 57 per cent.

Indigenous grad rates are also 44 per cent. Non-indigenous students graduate at a rate of 81 per cent, which is around the Canadian graduation rate. That means Indigenous graduation rates are almost half of that of NWT non-indigenous students and the rest of Canada.

Among those Aboriginal students who graduated in the communities, how many took the courses necessary to get into university/college? I understand most of them actually need upgrading to continue on to higher learning.

And don鈥檛 forget that many people finish school with a 鈥渓eaving school certificate.鈥� It鈥檚 not a diploma. It just means they went to school for 12 years. They definitely need upgrading for further education and sometimes even to pass the trades entrance exam. All of this tells me we need a real good plan for upgrading.

Get rid of social passing

To me, social passing is a huge part of the NWT鈥檚 low graduation and poorly-educated people problem. We need to get rid of it, or substantially overhaul it, so students know Grade 9-level material when they get to Grade 10.

So what is "social passing?鈥� Well, it鈥檚 the practice of schools moving students along to the next grade with other students of the same age without having to learn anything at all, except how not to get kicked out school.

When I was at St Pat鈥檚, we all had to pass our grades to move to the next grade. So, at the end of Grade 1, I had to know enough of the course work to get an overall mark of at least 50 per cent to move on to Grade 2; then I needed at least 50 per cent to move from Grade 2 to Grade 3.

And this continued all the way until I graduated. If we did not pass, we had to repeat the grade.

Today, kids go from grade to grade without having to pass anything until they get to Grade 10. So, that means many kids can鈥檛 do the Grade 10 work because they did not have to reach a certain standard to get there. In fact, some of them can barely read and write.

And that鈥檚 why so many kids drop out of school in Grade 10 or 11 鈥� because that's when they actually have to pass their courses to move to the next level.

Parents and students' responsibility

At the same time, parents can鈥檛 just say, 鈥渢he education system failed my kid鈥� when their kid drops out or has to go into upgrading after finishing grade 12. Parents have a responsibility to ensure their child did their best.

What does that mean? It means taking control of their kid鈥檚 education: making sure the child goes to school every day, does their homework, and gets at least eight hours of sleep every night. They should also go to all parent-teacher meetings to see how their child is doing and see if anything needs improvement.

If a parent expects their child to go to university, college or trades, they need to make sure their child takes the right courses in school. That means higher level Grade 12 English to get into university and math for trades entrance.

Parents and teachers need to work together to support the child. This may mean the teacher tells the parent about all assignments. Why? Because if you ask a kid if they have homework, they will often say 鈥淣o,鈥� or 鈥淚 already did it.鈥� I said these things when my mom asked about my homework. Did you?

If the parent is in contact with the teacher, they will know if their child is actually doing their homework, or if they need a tutor to help them understand their school work.

Students have a responsibility too! That is to go to school on time every day, do all their homework and assignments, and study for exams. And very important, get eight hours of sleep every night.

Jean and I recently spoke to two Alberta teachers who agreed that social passing was a huge problem that resulted in students dropping out at Grade 10 and 11. They said it needed dramatic changes. What do you think?