VANCOUVER — British Columbia's auditor general says the province has failed to close the education gap for aboriginal students in public schools.
Carol Bellringer has released a report that finds the Education Ministry fell short of fully exercising its duties to make good on a 2005 commitment to raise First Nations graduation rates to those of non-aboriginal students by 2015.
The report reveals that high-school completion rates for aboriginal students rose from 49 per cent to 62 per cent over the 10-year period.
But that increase failed to meet the 82 per cent to 87 per cent bump that was observed among non-First Nations during the same decade.
First Nations leaders say they are troubled by the findings and encourage the province to adopt all 11 recommendations in Bellringer's report.
She says in the report that the province has accepted all the recommendations.
