More to receive high school diplomas through GED

Education minister Ed Picco said the General Education Development, or “GED” testing program is being renewed. This allows students to receive a Nunavut high school equivalency diploma without attending classes at a high school.

Picco said his department invested $20,000 into the GED preparation courses which were offered through Nunavut Arctic College earlier this year in Rankin Inlet and in Iqaluit.

“We have invested a further $63,000 in the GED prep courses, now underway in Baker Lake, Arviat and Whale Cove,” Picco said.

The courses have 20 participants per session.

“We have the potential to accredit 220 Nunavummiut this year with their high school equivalency diploma,” Picco said. “This is a significant achievement given that we had 130 high school graduates across all of Nunavut last year. ”

The GED tests measure students’ ability:

* to understand and apply information;
* to evaluate, analyze and draw conclusions; and
* to express ideas and opinions in writing.

Picco said GED prep courses will be offered in Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk, Pangnirtung, Cape Dorset, Pond Inlet and Clyde River over the course of this fiscal year.

“With a high school diploma in hand, GED graduates are better positioned to contribute to their own well-being and the future of Nunavut,” Picco said.