Improving Access to Education in Northern Ontario
BROWN ANNOUNCES IMPROVEMENT IN ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Ontario Government building tomorrow’s highly skilled workforce
QUEEN’S PARK – Mike Brown. MPP, Algoma-Manitoulin, is pleased to announce that Northern Ontario residents will now have improved access to more post secondary education and training opportunities through enhanced distance learning services.
Ontario is supporting the upgrading and expansion of information technology to provide Contact North with the necessary equipment and bandwidth for its audio-conference, video-conference and e-learning technologies.
“This will help to ensure that all Ontario residents, including those in small and remote communities, can access high quality postsecondary education and training,” said Brown.
Contact North works in partnership with postsecondary institutions and community-based organizations to offer distance education to the more than 200,000 Northern residents who do not have direct access to postsecondary classrooms in their communities.
This investment is part of the McGuinty government’s five-year Open Ontario plan to create new opportunities for jobs and growth.
“Contact North provides a critical service for the residents of Northern Ontario. I am pleased that our government continues to recognize the significance of this organization’s work in providing innovative access to quality education and training,” said Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry.
“On the eve of its 25th anniversary as Northern Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network, this investment by the Government of Ontario could not be more timely as Contact North experiences explosive growth of over 60 per cent in the number of course registrations facilitated during this past semester. This additional funding will allow Contact North to meet the growing education and training needs of residents of Northern Ontario communities and contribute to economic development across the North,” said Maxim Jean-Louis, President and CEO of Contact North
QUICK FACTS
- The Ontario government has invested $3.5 million in 2009-10 in information technology enhancements and upgrades to the Contact North network.
- Contact North currently maintains access centres in over 90 small and remote communities across Northern Ontario, including more than 20 centres in First Nations communities.
- In 2009-10, 6,000 learners completed 17,600 full-and part-time courses using the Contact North network.
- The number of available courses recently increased by 30 per cent. In the fall 2009 semester, learners could choose from 322 college courses, 37 university courses, 93 literacy courses, and one secondary school course.
