Inuit organization to tackle low graduation rates

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization,has started a campaign to come up with solutions to address the low high school graduation rate in Inuit communities.

"The drop-out rate is very high in Inuit Nunangat, and we're trying to figure out ways of increasing the level of graduation from high school, so that they have a chance to go post-secondary education," said Mary Simon, chair of ITK's National Committee on Inuit Education.

Inuit Nunangat refers to the communities of Nunavut, Nunavik in Quebec, Nunatsiavut in Labrador and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Northwest Territories.

The national committee's research shows students are missing on average 41 days of school each year. That adds up to two full years by the time students reach high school, and the committee says attendance is dropping.

Simon said there is no easy answer to the problem but that, as a first step, parents need to be more involved.