The Conservative government is expected to react positively to a report that recommends Inuit children be educated in their native tongue.
But Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan will not commit the federal government to implementing that strategy, a departmental official said Monday, speaking on background.
The National Committee on Inuit Education is expected to release a report Thursday that lays out a plan to reverse the abysmal 75-per-cent-dropout rate among residents of Nunavut. Lack of education is seen as a leading contributor to poverty, ill health and crime among Canada’s Inuit population.
The Canadian Press reports the study will recommend that Inuit children be educated in Inuktitut, and also in English or in French.
Mr. Duncan supports the principle of bilingual education for Inuit children, which could improve education outcomes and lessen the social and economic ills afflicting Inuit communities.
But all government departments, including Mr. Duncan’s, are reviewing spending with an eye to cutbacks, and the departmental official said the report has yet to be reviewed.
