Why so secretive about university’s host?
Northerners deserve to know who’s interested in hosting Inuit Nunangat University
In a 2014 file photo, then-education minister Paul Quassa speaks about a university for Inuit Nunangat while then-panel member Mary Simon (now Governor General) looks on. The idea of developing a university for Inuit in the North has been talked about for nearly 15 years. (File photo by David Murphy)
The North of North TV show got a lot of mileage playing up the rivalry between two fictional Nunavut hamlets — Ice Cove and Tuktutalik — vying for a research facility in their communities.
That must be what Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami is trying to avoid by not divulging which communities are interested in hosting Inuit Nunangat University.
For at least five years, one of the national Inuit organization’s priorities has been the development of a university in the North to serve Inuit students. But it needs to find a location for its main campus that’s expected to accommodate 100 students and 80 staff.
And oh, yeah … the university is slated to open in 2030 — just five years from now.
In March, ITK asked communities that would like to host the main campus to speak up. Communities in Nunavut, Nunavik, Inuvialuit and Nunatsiavut were eligible to apply.
They are to be evaluated on a lengthy list of criteria including land ownership status, access to roads, availability of water, a reliable power supply, runway conditions and flight frequency.
The deadline was set for April 7, but that was extended to April 17.
This week, Nunatsiaq News reported that ITK won’t publicly release the names of the communities that came forward, or even how many, until they are reviewed by the organization’s board of directors — in the fall.
Time is of the essence. By the time fall rolls around, there will be less than five years left before the university is supposed to open. Taking six months to narrow the list down to four to six communities that will be invited to submit full proposals will eat up a big portion of the time remaining to get it up and running.
Progress on the university has been painstakingly slow — so slow no one should be faulted for wondering if anything is actually happening at all.
And ITK has been characteristically quiet about its plans, giving the public rare glimpses into the process.
Of course, many Inuit who want to earn a university degree have forever had to go south. An Inuit-led, Inuit-governed university is an ambitious project that, if successful, could provide another post-secondary education option closer to home.
It’s unfortunate ITK hasn’t been more transparent and that the public hasn’t been more involved.
Northerners deserve to know more about the plans as they take shape.
If you live in a community interested in hosting it, you should know that because putting a university in your hamlet will change your community.
Dropping a university campus into a northern community would transform that community. On one hand, hosting would bring prestige and new employment at the school as well as spinoff jobs.
But having more residents would put additional pressure on a community’s housing supply, demand for water infrastructure, social services, traffic and shopping.
Inuit Nunangat University is an exciting, ambitious plan with the potential to revolutionize education for Inuit and to transform the northern community that gets to host it. As the plans move forward, hopefully ITK will be more willing to share them.
“…many Inuit who want to earn a university degree have forever had to go south.”
Corey, that statement is factually incorrect. Both Arctic College in Nunavut and Aurora College in the Northwest Territories have successfully offered university-level programs through partnerships with other universities, enabling students to complete their studies without having to leave their home regions.
As well a significant number of Inuit across Inuit Nunangat have pursued and completed university programs through online platforms.
Why is the focus solely on creating a university? Instead, we should be looking at building strong, interconnected learning facilities in every community—facilities that are tied into the best educational institutions across the country. This would allow students to access high-quality education at all levels without having to leave their communities.
If Corey had said “all Inuit who want to earn a university degree …” your comment would have been correct.
But he didn’t. He said “Many Inuit…” Which is true.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Semantics aside, it’s an interesting comment.
The ideology establish with the present School Administrations perhaps should take a little peek HOW its school curriculum programs are set-up? Teachers & students roaming around in the hallways, textbooks (stored in boxes), chess games in classes, wood working shops used as excuse for credit day programs (just measure & cut lumber) for a day, full-time scale cultural programs, & field day trips etc…
Tip’s!?! The Kivalliq School Operations is certainly famous for this backwards simple ideology to promote EMPLOYMENT’s regardless of QUALIFICATIONS!
Greenland already has a well established University in Inuit Nunangat. Now that there’s a direct air link, why don’t ITK partner with Greenland to allow for Canadian Inuit to study there?
Ermm, Nunavut isn’t planning anything from what I read.
Where does it say anything about Nunavut?
Not just the University. Inuit decision makers absolutely hate and go to great lengths to avoid having their deliberations made public and then run like mad from having to explain their decisions. At every level.
Because so many decisions in Nunavut are made just for the sake of making them. We’re too desperate to not be “the South;” there is no wheel we won’t needlessly reinvent … the horse WILL learn to push that cart someday, and it will be way better than any other solutions anyone else has come up with.
I believe they call this the ‘made in Nunavut solution ‘
There are already a bunch of actual accredited universities across Canada.
Or are they “too hard” for nunavut “grads” to get into by passing basic entrance exams?
Ottawa Algonquin College just got an aboriginal thing going on. Why not attend there?
Ask an international student, working part time jobs to pay for school, leaving home AND paying for Skool about the “poor” students that have (harsh eh?) to leave Nunavut for a FREE education.
(😭😭Oh WOE is ME!!😢😢👿
Theres already a University in Inuit Nunangat and it’s called Greenland University. Now with direct flights this is a good opportunity for ITK to partner with with them and subsidize inuit students who want to stay in the inuit homeland.
ITK need a new leader who is gonna stop running the organisation as if its his business and for his own agenda and benefit. All these Inuit leaders are so corrupt and they need to do better. We want transparency and accountability!
Amen.
Another university? You’ve got to be kidding. We can’t properly coordinate the one we have! Classes consist of a handful of students (or less!) And classes are regularly cancelled for non attendance and teachers that are nowhere near qualified to teach with a curriculum that couldn’t even compare to southern programs. Schedules are proven to be loose planning at best and outright wrong in most cases with classes starting weeks after their “start date”. NAC is an embarrassment so how can Nunavut even be considering doing this again? Compounded failure helps no one.
I’m glad someone said it, so I didn’t have to. There isn’t a chance in hell there will be a University coming here.
ITK is playing make believe.
Even if I indulge the idea that Nunavut could support a University I can’t pretend it would stand a chance anywhere but Iqaluit.