Merasty Responds to Reserve Education Study

Merasty Responds to Reserve Education Study

Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 13:14

Liberal MP Gary Merasty is disputing the results of a study that suggests almost 60 per cent of on-reserve high school students drop out before graduating.

Researcher Michael Mendelson concluded that while educational outcomes have improved considerably for off-reserve native people, there’s been no improvement for on-reserve residents.

Some analysts are now saying First Nations youth living on reserves should pack their bags and head for urban centres to improve their prospects.

But Merasty feels the methodology of the Caledon Institute study is flawed, noting it’s difficult to get solid data about on-reserve drop-outs because of a lack of communication between Indian Affairs and the mainstream school system.

He says based on his knowledge of a Prince Albert Grand Council study, the dropout number is closer to 35 per cent.

Merasty also feels it’s bad advice to tell native youth to essentially abandon their kinship and language over what he feels is a myth about off-reserve education — that provincial schools are superior to reserve schools.

Merasty says the best way to improve the on-reserve dropout rate is to give reserve schools the same financial support for community school programs that provincial schools get.