Program will allow Nunavik’s future teachers to study closer to home
Residence, classrooms to be ready this summer
Administrators are gearing up to open a brand new student residence for its first cohort of teaching students in September. (Photo by Jorge Antunes)
A new student residence built to house Nunavik’s future teachers is just over a month away from opening its doors in Kuujjuaq.
It will accommodate students in the Certificate in Education for First Nations and Inuit program, the first post-secondary education program to be made available in the region.
McGill University professors will teach undergraduate students at temporary classrooms behind the Jaanimmarik school. Plans are underway to build permanent classrooms adjacent to the almost completed student residence.
“We want to give more opportunities to Nunavimmiut to build our future, because it’s the kids that are really going to benefit from this,” Victoria Gordon, program co-ordinator at Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, the regional school board, said in an interview.
“There’s a shortage of teachers and I think we’re working together within the school board and with our partners to address that issue to help our families, our communities, strengthen education especially in Inuktitut.”
In the past, Nunavimmiut who wanted to study college or univeristy programs had to travel south, said Mamadou Diop, director of adult education and vocational training services at Kativik Ilisarniliriniq.
Administrators are gearing up to open a new student residence for the first cohort of teaching students in September. Shown here is an industrial kitchen that will be staffed with full-time cooks. (Photo courtesy of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq / Mélissa Côté-Laforge)
“We wouldn’t be able to do it if we didn’t have that residence to be able to welcome other students from other communities,” he said.
The new residence is on Chimo Street across from the Co-op store.
Six temporary portable classrooms plus office space and a kitchen have been set up behind the Jaanimmarik school. Planning is in the early stages to construct permanent classrooms next to the two-storey residence where post-secondary students will live, in some cases with their families, while they study.
Applications are open to James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement beneficiaries across Nunavik with a high school diploma aged 21 or older. The program is fully funded by Quebec’s Ministry of Education.
The window to apply closes July 30, Diop said. So far, they have received 12 applications with a total of 20 spots available.
“[We have space] for families, kids, spouses, because we have family rooms, we have single rooms, so it can host up to 80 to 90 people,” Diop said of the 28-room residence which can accommodate single parents and families with children.
The residence itself is just over 26,000 square feet, said school board spokesperson Jade Bernier. That’s about the same area as one and a half NHL hockey rinks. Its total cost, including architect, studies and construction, was $55 million allocated to the board by Quebec’s education ministry.
The facility also has an outdoor playground, common areas for traditional cultural activities, workout and entertainment rooms and a dedicated babysitting service.
The industrial kitchen facility will be staffed with full-time cooks, freeing students to focus on their studies, and there’s space for a laundry.
The official opening is set for Aug. 26. Students will arrive the next day, in time for the beginning of the program Sept. 2.
Once the two-year program is completed, students receive a certificate allowing them to teach in Inuktitut in Nunavik and they can apply to work at the school board, Gordon said.
They can also continue their studies in the McGill University teaching program to earn a bachelor of education degree for First Nations and Inuit. Teachers who are hired can continue to work in Nunavik while they pursue their McGill studies.
Funding for the teaching program was approved this spring, Bernier said, so the board has been working on a short timeline to get the word out.
Not fake news, but hopefully that’s all we can say, that something can work. I don’t have much confidence from what i witnessed in many years with this situation , non educated teachers. If you think I’m pessimistic, just watch, a special invite to you all. I mean the history shows contrary to this being reality. My good god, what are people thinking? If someone thinks we will have qualified Inuit teachers soon, I’m sorry for you lack of awareness. There no one more than me , that would love to see this. No I don’t know what the answer to make it happen, but I’m guaranteed to see that it won’t happen. KI is incredible incompetent. The ones running it are uneducated themselves, how we supposed to inspire
I’m a graduate from university of Laval with masters’ degree in Social Work. I would like to apply for teaching position in your school. I have some experience in the teaching field. Thank you
To see the new building being erected, at first glance a joyful feeling, knowing its for our future education. But as it is now built and ki is looking for the new manager or general manager, and we al know whos who. The names that are coming up , just wird of mouth, its degrading and an insult to our future graduates. The same old yo yo non educated individuals that go from every thing from security guards, town managers, bingo calling professionals to hospital workers, krg officials. It’s actually pathetic what ki got to choose from. Yo yo wirkers that go in and out of every position in inuit society. And you seeing nothing yet wait til you get the program going, and see the results. Sad such a nice facility thst have more chance of going to waste than helping Nunaviks education.