Dettah Chief Ernest Betsina is concerned about Aurora College closing its community learning centres and said the GNWT never consulted with him and his council on this decision.

"I'm really surprised and disappointed at the same time," he said. "It's the people in those communities that took an initiative and want to learn, and yet they're taking it away from them."

Betsina said he wants to see more consultation and collaboration from the territorial government.

Aurora College announced in late January that it will be closing all 19 community learning centres (CLCs) in the NWT as of June 30. That decision could impact 31 indeterminate and term employees, in addition to several casual workers. 

The college spent close to $6.5 million per year operating all the CLCs.

In its statement that explained the reasoning behind the closures, Aurora College cited low enrollment as an issue and stated that the decision was unanimous among its board of directors.

According to Aurora College's 2023-2024 annual report, the school had 264 people enrolled in its certificate and diploma programs across the territory, a significant dip from 299 students a year earlier.

Also according to the report, Aurora College received approximately 1,000 applications, a small bump from the year prior. About 70 per cent of those applications came from people of Indigenous descent. In that same year, the school accepted 667 applicants, the same number as the year prior.

For the students enrolled in the CLCs, Betsina said shutting down the facilities is taking away the chance for people to get ahead.

"They're taking advantage of this education because they may have fallen through the cracks or they want to better themselves and now they're feeling a little bit more confident and all of the sudden the GNWT takes it away from them," he said. "It's almost like they're at square one again."

Minister responds

In a statement sent to SA国际影视传媒 on Jan. 30, Education, Culture and Employment Minister Caitlin Cleveland told SA国际影视传媒 that the GNWT recognizes Aurora CollegeSA国际影视传媒檚 decision to close all of its CLCs will impact students, staff and communities across the territory.

She explained that, under the Aurora College Act, the school's board of governors is responsible for its operational decisions, including legislative direction to the minister around SA国际影视传媒渘on-interferenceSA国际影视传媒� that underscores the armSA国际影视传媒檚-length relationship between the college and GNWT.

Cleveland added that the territorial government will be seeking clarity from Aurora College on what programming it intends to deliver. She also said the GNWT will engage with other post-secondary partners and stakeholders around how adult learners can be supported.

The Department of Education, Culture and Employment provides about half of Aurora CollegeSA国际影视传媒檚 revenue for general operations, according to the school's 2

In a statement, Aurora College president Angela James said the post-secondary institution engages with communities, Indigenous governments and others to determine priorities and needs for programming at its learning centres. However, she acknowledged that the college's board of governors did not consult individual Indigenous governments prior to making their unanimous decision to shut down the school's learning centres.

James said enrolment for academic upgrading and other specialty courses at CLCs has been falling over the past several years. Costs to operate the centres had become unstable, she added, and its delivery model was ineffective.

Aurora College will continue to offer academic upgrading via its Inuvik, Fort Smith and Yellowknife regional campuses in addition to online, according to James. That includes the pre-requisites needed to enter the school's post-secondary and trades programs, she said.

"Of the approximately three dozen adult upgrading courses Aurora College currently offers, increased accessibility to higher-level adult upgrading courses, including access to high school equivalent courses, will be made available online," James said.

She explained that CLCs were limited in adult education courses offered since most higher-level adult upgrading requires specialty teachers for subjects such as science and math.

"Demand for the literacy-level academic upgrading has fallen sharply over the past several years while interest in high school-level courses has increased, so the college is responding to that trend with the shift in the types of academic upgrading courses that will be delivered," said James.