YELLOWKNIFE (March 11, 2014) – Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Jackson Lafferty is announcing new funding for the Beaufort Delta Education Council’s (BDEC) e-learning program. This program allows students to remain in their home communities while taking a wide range of academic courses not normally offered in their community school.

This funding was established as part of the Education Renewal and Innovation (ERI) initiative to sustain the current BDEC e-learning program and to expand this promising education opportunity to communities outside of the Beaufort Delta region.

“We are building on and supporting the Beaufort Delta Education Council’s success in this important venture,” said Minister Lafferty. “We hope this program will ultimately allow students across the Northwest Territories to stay in their home communities longer while having access to courses they need, to both graduate and to pursue post-secondary opportunities. These are critical options for all of our students to have.”

The pilot program expansion is currently offered as a one-time funding opportunity of $500,000 to explore e-learning in more NWT communities. The Beaufort Delta program is currently hosted in Inuvik and offered in schools in Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk and Fort McPherson.

BDEC’s proactive efforts and requests for support through presentations and proposals has demonstrated their commitment to this initiative, their dedication to the needs of their students and their ability to lead the program delivery outside their region.

E-learning is an effective, efficient way to provide distance education to northern communities, and makes it easier for residents to get the training they need. There are a number of possible approaches currently being explored to expand distance learning opportunities within the NWT as part of the ERI action plan development.

More information on the ERI initiative can be found at www.ece.gov.nt.ca.

For more information:

Cale Frombach
Public Affairs and Communications Officer
Education, Culture and Employment
Phone: (867) 920-8603
Email: cale_frombach@gov.nt.ca