BC Auditor General Carol Bellringer provided an audit involving aboriginal students in the province’s public school system.
She says some progress has been made since 2005.
“Ten years ago only 49 percent of aboriginal students in BC public schools graduated on time compared to 78 percent of all other students,”
Bellringer says despite the increase, it’s still not enough.
“In 10 of BC’s 60 school districts 50 percent of aboriginal students graduated in 2014. First nation students who live on reserve but attend a public school tend to have lower graduation rates.”
We currently have 62 thousand aboriginal students attending public schools in BC which generates 500 million dollars.
11 percent of the total student body in the system is aboriginal.
In 2005, the province made a commitment to raise the graduation rates among those students to 85 percent in 2015.
More collaboration between school staff and aboriginal leaders is one of the suggestions made in the audit.
The entire report can be found at www.bcauditor.com.