Nunavut administrator questions accuracy of school enrolment numbers

A snapshot of school enrollment in Nunavut shows a wide gap in the level of attendance at the territory’s schools. But one school administrator in the territory fears some of those numbers may be off. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

A snapshot of Nunavut school attendance numbers shows big differences among the territory’s 43 schools in their reported enrolment data.

But at least one school administrator in the territory fears that some of those numbers may be inaccurate.

Individual school enrolment data proved crucial earlier this year, when the Government of Nunavut’s education department shifted teaching allocations based on enrolment.

It meant that many schools gained teaching positions, while others lost positions.

Some of the schools hardest hit in that shift were Arviat’s primary, middle and high school, which will lose a combined total of 12.5 teaching positions in 2015-16.

In Nunavut, teacher allocations are based on the territory’s standard ratio of 14 students for every educator.

A student is considered enrolled when they attend at least 40 per cent of instruction time in a given month.

Enrolment data obtained by Nunatsiaq News shows that, as of Sept. 30, 2014, Arviat’s John Arnalukjuak high school had 72 registered “non-attenders” out of a student body of 336.

Then compare that to the enrolment at Kugluktuk high school, which during the same period registered perfect attendance for all of its 184 students.

Sakku school in Coral Harbour also registered zero non-attenders last September.

So what is the secret to high enrolment in a territory that struggles with absences and drop-outs?

John MacDonald, Nunavut’s assistant deputy minister of education, said it’s not that simple.

“I think it’s a lot of factors. The fluctuations — we used to see them under our old system,” he said. “And they would go up and down from year to year.”

The territory’s schools are still adjusting to a new data entry system, called Maplewood, which was implemented in Nunavut schools two years ago to replace an aging Filemaker Pro system.

The software is much more efficient and operates in real time, he said.

But a veteran school administrator in Nunavut, who wishes to remain anonymous, believes the gap in enrolment data is not a matter of “fluctuations.”

The administrator believes that school staff may be manipulating their school attendance data to produce higher enrolment numbers — which helps preserve teaching jobs.

The administrator, says a number of schools in the territory have benefitted by providing data that may be inaccurate — even unknowingly — and produced increased teacher allocations.

“We work hard to properly input our attendance into the system,” the administrator told Nunatsiaq News.

“It is frustrating if schools are benefitting that do not know or were not trained on the system and are unable to produce accurate data.”

Since Maplewood was implemented, the administrator has noted an increase in attendance at certain schools and fears that teachers and school staff will only be further enticed to manipulate attendance data to justify more staffing for their schools.

When asked if there could have been errors in reporting, MacDonald said his department has worked to ensure the data is as accurate and dependable as possible.

“It takes time to fully implement any data entry system,” he said. “There’s always the potential for human error and always potential to improve the system.”

The Department of Education already offers training on data entry into the Maplewood system, he said, but there are plans to step that up for next year, he said.

The department will deploy a new distance education module for new teachers to the territory in 2016-16.

“Especially with the turnover we have in Nunavut, we have to make sure we’re training the teachers on how to use the system,” MacDonald said.

Nunavut schools will gain about a dozen teaching positions overall in 2015-16.

Fourteen communities will see increases in teacher staffing while another eight communities will lose positions.