There continue to be gaps in graduation rates between First Nations and non-First Nations students in the Yukon, an audit shows.

The federal Auditor General’s office released its report on education in the territory on Tuesday.

Assistant Auditor General Casey Thomas, audit principal Jo Ann Schwartz and auditor Ruth Sullivan presented the report to the media.

The report looked into whether the Yukon Department of Education has assessed and addressed gaps in student outcomes.

It also focused on whether inclusive programs are offered to students that reflect the territory’s First Nations languages and culture.

“This audit is important because education is a path to helping youth to become productive members of society and communities,” Schwartz said.

She said this is important because the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has called for improving education levels and success rates for First Nation students.

The goal is to reduce the gap in graduation rates between Indigenous and non-indigenous students.

The audit concluded that the department is unaware if the students had all the supports that were needed.

Schwartz added this is particularly true for special needs and First Nations students.

“Overall, we found that the department did not know whether its programs met the needs of students,” Schwartz said.

She said that even 10 years after the previous education audit, the gap in success rates between Indigenous and non-indigenous students continue to exist. There is also a gap between rural and urban students’ success rates.

She clarified that there was no comparison between the numbers from 2009 and now.

Schwartz could not say if these gaps were growing or shrinking. She recommends finding the root causes to close the gaps.

She explained that the audit examined a six-year completion rate.

This looked at students who entered Grade 8 in 2011 and followed that group to their graduation from high school.

Schwartz said there was a 32 per cent difference between First Nations and non-First Nations students who completed high school in that six-year period.

She said the department has done little to identify and understand the root causes. Without this knowledge, there was no way to determine if the current supports working for students or if resources were spent in the right areas.

There was no performance measurement strategy. This would have enabled the department to set targets and close the gaps in student achievement.

“This lack of a strategy is a further obstacle,” Schwartz said.

As for offering inclusive education, the audit revealed that there was no monitoring of the delivery of services and supports for students with special needs. This includes no tracking of student outcomes.

This meant, she said, that the department did not know if its model of inclusive education was working.

Nor did it know if specific schools, subjects or teachers needed some extra attention.

She said there were no reviews. The auditor looked at 82 education plans, and there was little to show that students received the supports they were supposed to get.

She said the department has committed to First Nations languages and cultural educational opportunities.

That said, Schwartz explained the department did not do enough to build partnerships that would have developed these programs.

She said there needs to be focus with First Nations, school boards and school councils about how to deliver Indigenous programming.

She added there was not enough direction nor oversight given to schools to offer cultural inclusive programming.

She recommends that the department conducts a review of how inclusive education is offered.

Teachers were surveyed and asked if there are enough supports and services to implement inclusive and First Nations linguistic and cultural education.

The results were that 50 per cent of teachers did not feel there is enough support. Two thirds of those did not feel they were getting enough training.

Schwartz clarified that 543 surveys were sent out, with 181 responded to – a 33 per response rate.

She said this is a typical response rate for an online survey.

The department has agreed to all of the recommendations, Schwartz said, which should help rectify the matter.

She said this is something that needs to happen, or another 10 years can go by and another generation of students would be adversely affected.

She said the department co-operated well with the audit. She has a sense that the department will work on the problems.

“We have faith that they (recommendations) will be implemented,” Schwartz said.

There could be a follow-up to this audit, but there is no commitment at this time.

Sue Harding, the Yukon Teachers’ Association president, spoke with the Star this morning about the audit.

She said she was disappointed to hear that there was no improvement in the last 10 years.

She said there has been no investment by the department to find out if its programs are actually working.

Harding believes that some schools are working well but some rural schools do not have the same resources that urban schools do.

She would like to see more support for rural students.

“It was surprising to me that we had not closed gaps,” Harding said.

She thinks this audit will be a wake-up call to the department to bring about effective changes.

The report took 12 to 15 months to complete, having begun in February 2018.

Eight schools were visited, including schools outside of Whitehorse.

Tracy-Anne McPhee, the Education minister since December 2016, issued a statement Tuesday regarding the audit.

“Today’s release of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada’s audit report on inclusive and special education programs, and First Nations education in Kindergarten-Grade 12 education programs in Yukon provides us with clear direction on where we can improve our education system,” McPhee’s statement said.

“We accept the recommendations of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and recognize there is work to do to meet the needs of Yukon students.”

She said the government is working with First Nations governments and other partners to meet the audit’s recommendations.

She confirmed that the department is doing a review of supports and services offered to special needs students.

It is also working with First Nations to improve outcomes of students in that community.

“The Government of Yukon is committed to modernizing our education system and working with our education partners to ensure all students have the supports they need to succeed as learners,” McPhee’s statement said.