Nunavut education minister: more “parental engagement” needed on vandalism

The Nunavut education minister, Paul Quassa, second from left, sits Oct. 6 with those attending the Kitikmeot Inuit Association annual general meeting at the Luke Novoligak community centre in Cambridge Bay. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

Trashed school supplies outside the school in Taloyoak Oct. 4. (FILE PHOTO)

CAMBRIDGE BAY — “Terrible.” That’s how Nunavut’s education minister, Paul Quassa, said he feels about vandalism at Nunavut schools.

“It’s devastating to see infrastructure such as schools being ransacked,” Quassa told Nunatsiaq News in connection with two recent incidents linked to the actions of young vandals:

• in Taloyoak Oct. 5 youth ripped apart two pallets holding school supplies, including textbooks, Halloween supplies and audio equipment for new listening centres; and,

• in Cape Dorset, late Sept. 5, the Peter Pitseolak High School in Cape Dorset caught fire and burned down, after three youth had allegedly been sniffing gasoline underneath the school.

Quassa said education is important and schools should be taken care of. And he said he wants Nunavut students to look at schools as their “root.”

The solution to vandalism against schools includes more “parental engagement,” said Quassa, who visited Cambridge Bay Oct. 6 to speak to delegates at the Kitikmeot Inuit Association’s annual general meeting.

District education associations across Nunavut are already working on how to improve parental involvement, he said.

In Taloyoak, school officials are now working with education department officials to make sure the school and its staff receive additional supplies.

Fortunately, the education department stocks extra school supplies, Quassa said.

“We will see that they have the resources they need,” he said.

The impact of the fire in Cape Dorset — which caused millions of dollars in damages and will require a new school to be built — and even the much smaller loss in Taloyoak are also felt inside the education department.

“We’re busy here to revise budgets when incidents like this happen,” Quassa said.

His department is now promoting Education Week, from Oct. 5 to Oct. 9, on the theme “Literacy leads to learning success,” which also emphasizes the important role families play in building the literacy skills of children.