EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I would like to remind my colleagues that we will be doing a showcase of Inuktitut books from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon out in the foyer.
These are the publications that are to be used by the Inuktitut teachers.
Indeed Minister Quassa and your staff, I completely comprehend the response as the department will never come out and state that their department isn’t properly run.
Obviously since it is your department and ministers have to protect their departments as that is the mandate. No minister will ever come out and state their department is in shambles. I know this, so I understand exactly where you come from.
However, this other question I have relates to the president of NTI, who made the statement which I referenced earlier.
How would you respond to her position or how did your department respond to her concerns?
She stated that Inuit teachers dislike teaching in Inuktitut due to the lack of Inuktitut teaching materials.
I just indicated that we are producing a lot Inuktitut teaching materials, so I totally disagree with you.
I’m not talking about all teachers, but some prefer to teach in English and it’s up to them.
If I was an NTEP student, whether I was Qallunaaq or Inuk, my language of instruction could be either language. It’s a bilingual education.
We’re trying to encourage the number of Inuktitut teachers in the schools.
We have 83 to 88 Inuit in the NTEP program.
We would like to see more Inuit teachers, but following the Education Act, we have a bilingual education system in our schools and in Iqaluit this includes French.
If any of the other communities would like French language of instruction, it could be possible some time in the future.
I totally disagree with you that Inuit teachers don’t want to teach Inuktitut because of the lack of tools. We have produced a lot of teaching materials.
Minister Quassa, I didn’t say that you said this or that.
My question is that the Nunavut Tunngavik president stated during a radio interview that the Inuit teachers don’t want to teach Inuktitut as the language of instruction because of the lack of tools.
Let me ask you again: how would you respond to her comment?
I wouldn’t agree with her for the reason that we have a lot of teachers who speak Inuktitut and they teach in Inuktitut.
I wouldn’t totally agree with that comment for the reason that even past teachers have produced a lot of reading materials for schools.
Even though they’re retired, they still write reading materials to be used in our schools more and more.
I wouldn’t agree with that comment because Inuktitut literacy materials are increasing and we will keep producing more and we will probably be doing that forever.
It’s different every year, but every year Inuktitut reading materials will be produced for our children’s children and this will not stop.
Therefore I understand you totally disagree with the Nunavut Tunngavik president’s comment, if I understand correctly.
I would like to give the time that I have left to Mr. Shooyook.
As the Chair, I still have names on my list.
>>Committee recessed at 17:43 and resumed at 18:02
We’re on (interpretation ends) Education. Policy and Planning. (interpretation) Page G-5.
Mr. Shooyook (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome, minister, Kathy, and the other official.
I didn’t want to make a comment, but I have no choice but to make a comment now.
Education is a very important issue in Nunavut and in our future.
I had urged about using Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit in your department to have real Inuit instructors.
I have tried to state in the past that there should be real Inuit instructors.
I think there’s a policy that they need to be certified to become a teacher.
I know the reason for it being slowed down, even if there is a lot of reading material and there’s no position.
Yes, I understand that there are elders who are invited to speak in the schools about values.
I keep stating about having real Inuktitut instructors teaching the Inuit language and writing system and to protect the language.
Will any funding ever be made available some time in the future for the subject I always state is missing?
I imagine it will never be implemented, to have a traditional Inuk who can teach language skills, for example, teaching students starting in kindergarten up to the grade where the students start being taught English courses. I believe the students are five years old who go to kindergarten. Up until the time they reach the grade where they receive instruction in English is what I am getting at, as I believe they are taught by Inuktitut teachers.
You can speak to that issue in greater detail later.
The students in the Inuktitut stream should have an experienced traditional teacher and there should be an organization to work towards that.
What is the department’s goal in this area?
Hon. Paul Quassa (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank my colleague for asking for clarification.
First of all I think he was asking about different issues regarding education.
Our elders are very important. They don’t just come to the schools to talk and they’re not just lecturers.
With respect to Inuit traditions and cultural activities, Inuit are very good at using their hands to work.
If they’re going to be making Inuit tools of language, they utilize proper grammar in Inuktitut. Elders are utilized in that way in our schools and they should be.
In our (interpretation ends) Education Act, (interpretation) the elders in our schools are employees of the local district education authorities.
It’s clearly laid out that elders who teach Inuit traditional values are called innait inuksiutilirijiit and they’re recognized within the Act.
They’re important.
The principals and the district education authorities have to work together to fully utilize this part.
Regarding Inuktitut language being taught from kindergarten, according to our Act, five-year-olds can go to school.
If the parent doesn’t want their child to go to school at five, then at the age of six it’s mandatory for them to go to school according to the Act.
Kindergarten students up to grade 3 are given purely Inuktitut instruction.
It’s mandatory. There’s no way around it.
To date, even though the Act clearly lays that out, occasionally we cannot follow that because of the lack of teachers in real Inuktitut and English.
Yes, we have Inuit teachers, but we still don’t have enough.
It’s actual legislation, but we break it sometimes for the main reason being the lack teachers who can teach real Inuktitut.
Yes, I clearly understand that once they reach the age of six, it’s mandatory for them to go to school.
Let me return to your earlier comments about the usefulness of Inuit elders who go to the schools to teach language and Inuit cultural values. What I refer to is your statement about teachers and that we don’t have enough of them.
With that being the case, it has to be our top priority to have our students capable of writing and reading in Inuktitut and to retain Inuktitut. When you stated that the lack of teachers is part of the challenge and that we have students in the programs who are graduating from the NTEP courses, does this mean these new teachers will make a difference and reach the juncture I want to see where we have traditional Inuit teachers who teach only in Inuktitut, whether it is writing or reading?
What I have seen in the past, although I have never had any formal education, is that I was taught the syllabic system and I learned to write in Inuktitut. It wasn’t even a year before I was able to write my thoughts on paper.
This can be accomplished today as well if the dedication is there.
With formal education programming these days, I will now speak to our students. When students today are asked to read, they have difficulty reading, yet they are supposedly learning.
Although they can read, they read very slowly and not even on par with Inuit with no formal education who can read in Inuktitut.
With that being the situation today, this requires immediate resolution. What I am talking about is something I want the support of my colleagues and I want assistance in this regard.
It can only be improved with teachers fully fluent in Inuktitut and that is the only way reading skills can improve.
I also thank you for adding to that question.
I think I explained earlier that we do have teachers who focus on literacy and reading skills, literacy coaches, language instructors, and school counsellors.
There are different types of employees working out of our schools.
The teachers who focus solely on language, or (interpretation ends) language specialists (interpretation) as they are called, are specialists in Inuktitut and that is the purpose. These are the language specialists.
In adding up the numbers in Nunavut, there are 79 teachers in all of our schools who are language specialists in Inuktitut. They are called language specialists. Further, on top of these language specialists, there are other layers.
What I also want to mention specifically, which I believe was relayed by my colleague, is that since 2014-15 we initiated the work specific to Inuktitut literacy initiatives. That was the first time specific written materials were developed.
I believe I already mentioned the numbers of books now that have been developed and now in use. There are over 300 course materials that have been developed since 2014.
What you are referring to, my colleague, about the inability of students to read properly in Inuktitut, these language specialists will ensure that the students are fluently able to read and write, even to speed-read. That is the goal, to have fluent readers capable of writing or even to speed-read in Inuktitut.
That is the ultimate purpose of the (interpretation ends) guided reading and guided writing, (interpretation) which is entirely in Inuktitut.
All schools now have the Inuktitut materials. To date there are over 300 course materials and the numbers are increasing.
There is material available from kindergarten all the way up to grade 3.
These materials are now all in usage. From the time the students are small, they have the literacy focus.
When the students are getting close to grade 4, we have higher levels available as well.
It starts from kindergarten to grade 3.
However, our goal is to have it reach grade 4, which we are starting to produce now.
This is specific to reading materials and literacy in Inuktitut as our goals.
I want to move to a completely different matter.
This is also a concern I have always held related to the importance of education related to our debate here on the exams and testing of the students, as some students are not at the grade 12 level even though they graduate.
They are called graduates, but in looking at this holistically and based on the discussions to date, I started to brainstorm ever since I sat in this chair.
If an Inuk child doesn’t attend school for a specific number of days, perhaps due to being lazy or even from illness, it has an impact on the child’s exam testing as they have already missed days.
This would include the missing assignments and the student is stuck at that level. That is how I understand that.
Perhaps to use this specific example, I wanted to take my son on a trip while he was in school and he now works at the housing association.
He stated that his studies would just start lagging behind and that he didn’t want to go hunting until he had completed his high school.
Mr. Chairman, this has a stressful component to it. When we get responses, although I always ask about this matter during question period, what about the school hunting trips where students are sent out for an entire week, although they have studies to complete and if they miss their assignments, then those students are now stuck at that level.
There is no homework on the trips, so they can’t do the work.
As well, based on the written materials, it states that these week-long hunting trips don’t affect their overall school work.
If a student starts missing their writing assignments, then that student will not be able to catch up.
This is part of what I understand causing students to fall behind and who are graduated even though their levels are lower than that grade. This is causing many Inuit to not benefit from their education.
This is something we should review as every barrier slowing down students’ education levels should be taken down so that our students receive the proper education. I wonder if this is impossible to contemplate because we need action on this front now.
That is exactly how our education system is set up, using the principles of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. We use the principles as our foundation and it includes components of Inuit culture. It should never be used as a barrier.
For example, if any student doesn’t show up for school, they are marked as absent.
However, if the parent or foster parent is going to go hunting with the child, they should notify the school ahead of time.
If they are notified, then it is an acceptable excuse of absence because of the fact that they are out hunting and not in school for that purpose.
When the student is absent from school, if he’s hunting or out on the land somewhere, then the parent, as I said, has to notify the school. If the student will need more help once they go back to school, that’s the purpose and the teacher is notified.
That hunting trip can be recognized and if the student spent a certain amount of time and lagged behind because of a hunting trip, the student can be helped to catch up with the other students.
Hunting trips like that should not make students fall behind in their schoolwork because our department is based on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. It should not be the excuse to lag behind.
When that student comes back from a hunting trip and they are back in school, they can get more support if they need it. They’re shown what they didn’t do and what needs to be done as soon as the hunting trip is over.
My time is running out already, regretfully.
I understand what you’re saying. It’s very important.
With Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, I don’t really support the school hunting trips, but there is always a “but” for me. It makes students fall behind.
I know that now, even though I’m not a teacher.
It should be corrected in some way. The Inuktitut curriculum has not really been taught because of the lack of resources and that is a hindrance to me.
Using Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, how can education be corrected during the school year to make sure the students go forward?
I don’t agree with the school hunting programs at all.
Can you give it more thought or can you change it?
We consider the local district education authorities very important.
They are the ones that can set up programs.
The local DEA can set up the whole school year for their community.
It’s called the school calendar and they will follow it for the whole year.
The local district education authorities can put that together in the communities.
In the springtime there are many more people that want to go out on the land. The parents want to take their children along. The school calendar can be set up by the local DEA to accommodate that and they can set it up the way they see fit.
They can also set up an attendance policy in the school as to the fact that they need to be in the school. They can make policies like that in the communities. It’s the local district education authorities that put things like that together.
It is part of their mandate under the Education Act and they understand that.
Also these days we are using computers and our schools are using computers too, so we can see more Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit on computers. They use computers for literacy purposes and we will be creating software for that purpose to be used in our schools.
Even if they don’t come out of the school, they can learn about Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit on screen. That’s what we’re starting to introduce.
They’re not a hindrance to education and they should not be a hindrance to education because we are based on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. We have to try to believe in it and it can proceed better if we believe in it. That’s why I said the local district education authority can put together programs or policies like that because it’s their job and responsibility.
We just encourage them.
Policy and Planning. (interpretation) Following my list of names, Mr. Joanasie.
Mr. Joanasie (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for acknowledging me again. I have additional questions.
This is related to my earlier questions as I just want some clarification first of all. The minister stated that there are currently 171 teachers who are Nunavut beneficiaries and the non-beneficiary members totalled 477.
I believe those were the numbers mentioned. Hopefully I am not mistaken with those figures. In total there are 648 teachers.
Additionally, if we look at these figures, approximately 306 positions are required for our Inuktitut teachers. As an example, if we use the bilingual education model here in Nunavut, that would be the number. Is that the case here?
Is that number a goal of your department?
The figure that the member has stated is not our figure, but let us be aware that we are continually seeking Inuit teachers. We still have a lot of things to do.
Within this fiscal year there are between 83 and 88 NTEP students who are Inuit.
As I said earlier, every time we visit higher grades, we encourage students to take the NTEP program.
That is what we keep advising students.
Of course it’s up to the students to make their own decisions.
We are always seeking bilingual educators and we want to increase the number of bilingual teachers. We don’t mind having 100 percent bilingual teachers who are all Inuit.
That will be our objective and goal, but I cannot give you an actual number.
It’s okay if you call me Mr. Chairman.
I would like to know what figure is used by the department. If I recall correctly, the Auditor General of Canada submitted a report on education.
It included recommendations that requested the department to identify the exact number of teachers to reach the goal of bilingual education, especially if education is going to continue in Nunavut.
I will just use this 306 figure as an example since the minister stated there is no set number.
I have also noted the numbers of students graduating from the NTEP program and I am just guessing here. Every year in looking at a four-year period that they must complete, approximately 12 students graduate if we look at total numbers over the length of this program.
In extrapolating that (interpretation ends) average (interpretation) of 12 graduates, we also know that not all students who complete the Teacher Education Program remain teachers as some choose other careers.
Some teachers retire or quit teaching. Ten or nine teachers are being hired annually in Nunavut.
With that being the case, if my math is correct, in order to reach this hypothetical number of 306 teachers with only nine or ten graduates per year, it would take 30 years to reach that figure.
We’re not very pleased about having a sufficient number of Inuit teachers and we won’t be pleased until we get all Inuit teachers in all the schools.
It will remain that way. We’re not just talking about this.
We have created the educator development position which is geared toward the NTEP students and how they can help the students.
We have that position now.
Let’s also be aware that with EIA and the Department of Education working together, we want to identify exactly how many Inuit employees we need or require, especially how many teachers are required.
With that, we just initiated the review of the Inuit Employment Plan.
Let’s be aware that the Nunavut Teacher Education Program is being comprehensively reviewed on how we can get teachers who are fully competent and who have no qualms about teaching in either Inuktitut or English.
Those are the different approaches we are using. However, what I can state is that irrespective of the figure, we will never be satisfied until all of our schools have Inuit teachers.
With respect to your plans, actually the progress made is being reviewed on an ongoing basis, yet it still hasn’t picked up. It was mentioned by another member that the process is haltingly slow.
That’s what I am trying to say here.
Nonetheless, your department and Arctic College should consider fast-tracking certain areas, not just in this category. We should look at ways to increase the numbers of teachers who are fully bilingual. I believe you need to conduct a comprehensive review of that requirement.
You have a previous goal of 2020 for realizing the goal of bilingual education up to grade 12. You have also stated that the legislation has been breached and the department no longer has that goal. Perhaps this goal of 2020 was too optimistic.
What is the status of this goal now?
Is it just an open-ended goal to graduate a student who is totally bilingual in Nunavut?
I want to reiterate this statement and I will try to respond shortly.
This (interpretation ends) educator development (interpretation) is a brand-new initiative specific to the goal of increasing the numbers of Inuit teachers who are Nunavummiut.
This is a large part of the review.
With respect to (interpretation ends) certification, (interpretation) we expect to make improvements and we will explore that.
The other review will be specific to the NTEP program and we will be able to identify the process which is better suited for us.
It includes looking at increasing the numbers and a fast-tracked program to get more Inuit teachers.
That will be the purpose of this review. We are not just putting it on a backburner.
These issues will be carefully reviewed.
In speaking about our language teachers or (interpretation ends) language specialists, (interpretation) they are an important part of the work in our schools.
This becomes clear when our NTEP students graduate the program and choose other government positions, but this is something we have no control over. Every person is free to make their own decisions in this area. However, we are still dedicated to increasing the numbers of teachers.
What I take pride in as we sit here is that we have over 80 students who are taking the program.
If we can get the same figure at the NTEP program every year, it would be ideal.
We’re reviewing how the NTEP program can be improved and the review will continue until we reach our target.
The numbers are just estimates, but I just encourage the department to consider these more. I was just using them as an example.
In order to reach our target, we need 300 more teachers. Are you looking at how we can reach that target earlier?
This is just a comment now.
I’ll go back a little bit to daycares or preschool.
Your business plan indicates that the review of the Child Day Care Act will be completed, but will you be reviewing the operations and maintenance of daycares? It’s a little over $2 million to be used for Nunavut daycares, but many parents utilize the daycares in the communities when they go to work.
Will you be reviewing the Child Day Care Act along with the funding for the daycares?
Yes, there is a comprehensive review of the Child Day Care Act at this time.
We are also looking at how the funding can be used if they change the way they operate.
Following our Act, the district education authorities are also responsible for the daycares. What we do is we provide the money to the DEAs and they in turn pay for the daycares.
We have noticed that some of the DEAs don’t provide the funding to the daycares.
Maybe it’s better if we provide that funding directly to the daycare centres.
They also have the Early Childhood Education Division, which has a similar scheme that is focused on daycares.
There will be a comprehensive review of the Child Day Care Act to identify different and better ways to provide daycare in the communities.
He responded to another question that I was going to ask regarding the district education authorities. They’re being given monies that are geared for daycare spaces.
Maybe it’s because the daycares don’t request funding from the DEAs. I would just like to indicate my support in giving that money to the daycares directly instead of using the district education authorities.
That’s just a comment and that’s it for me.