Panel to Investigate Aboriginal Education Problems

The Tories and aboriginal groups are following through on a pledge to tackle obscene dropout rates on reserves.

After making education a top priority for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs earlier this month, the Conservative government and the Assembly of First Nations announced today that they would create a national panel to examine the problems plaguing schools on reserves across the country. The three-person panel will travel around Canada to speak with aboriginal leaders and school officials about how to curb astronomical dropout rates, as only 41 per cent of students on reserves graduate from high school. The education review is the first measure rolled out under the “joint action panel” introduced by the government and the AFN, which will also focus on improving accountability in First Nations' governance and helping stimulate reserves' economies.