Sask. gov't should do more to support Indigenous students as grad rates remain stagnant​: auditor

Saskatchewan's auditor has determined the province needs to do more to improve success for Indigenous students.

Less than 50 per cent are graduating Grade 12 during the expected time period, according to a new report from the provincial auditor's office.

"Having a high school diploma is more likely to allow you to seek and obtain employment opportunities later in life than and hence probably reduce the disparity between, probably, employment earnings between non-Indigenous and Indigenous people," said auditor Tara Clemett on Tuesday.

Her office assessed the Ministry of Education's implementation of a policy, released in 2018, that was designed to improve educational outcomes for Indigenous students.

Graduation rates were stagnant from 2018 to 2021, with 44.7 per cent of Indigenous students graduating within three years of beginning Grade 10, compared to 88.7 per cent of non-Indigenous students.

The rate is less than a five per cent increase from the 40.1 per cent reported in 2015. At that time, former Premier and Sask. Party leader Brad Wall said the government would prioritize improving graduation rates of Indigenous students. 

The government did not grant CBC's request for an interview about the auditor's report on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said, in a written statement, that the government "takes the recommendations of the provincial auditor seriously and will continue to work on and improve areas identified by the auditor." 

They said Indigenous education and student outcomes are main priorities in the provincial plan that's guiding the education sector to 2030. 

The auditor recommended that the Ministry of Education create measures and targets that focus specifically on improving numeracy, literacy and attendance for Indigenous student achievement. 

In response to the report, the Opposition NDP said the government is failing young Indigenous students — one of the fastest growing segments of the population. 

"The concrete solution here is to to have some measurable goals that can be tracked by divisions that are resourced, resourced by funding that comes only from the provincial government to meet those goals," said education critic Matt Love.

The auditor also identified concerns at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, which runs four campuses in the province. 

Indigenous program enrolments fell by almost 30 per cent, to 2,286 in 2021 from 3,203 in 2019, but the institution did not document its evaluation of the reason for the decline, nor did it establish new actions to help improve enrolment, according to the report. 

Clemett recommended that the institution expand performance measures, and conduct ongoing Indigenous community engagement and consultation.