Nunavut Arctic College apologizes for last-minute cancellation of Inuit Studies course

Nunavut Arctic College's board of directors has apologized to students in the Inuit Studies program for not notifying them their program was cancelleduntil after they returned from Christmas break expecting to continue their studies.

"The timing of the notification should have happened shortly after the term was completed, and any future cancellations will ensure that this is done," the chair of the college's Board of Governors, Elizabeth Ryan, said in a press release Tuesday.

"We apologize to the students affected for the timing of the notification."

The release says college administrators canceled the program on January 7, due to low student enrollment.

CBC previously reported that affected students had their student funding cut off and were given one week to move out of student housing.

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The two-year Inuit Studies diploma program teaches traditional aspects of Inuit language and culture and how those relate to contemporaryissues. Graduates are expected to be fluent in Inuktitut, with syllabic keyboarding skills.

The college now says the program will be offered again in the fall of 2017.

Ryan said the two students remaining in the program have been accommodated. CBC reported previously the college gave those students the option to transfer to another program.

"The Inuit Studies program is an integral component to teaching our cultural history and it's unfortunate the program had to be canceled for this semester," Paul Quassa, the minister of education responsible for Nunavut Arctic College, said Tuesday.

Quassasaid he has evaluated the situation and instructed the college "to follow the appropriate administrative process, as the well-being of our students is first and foremost the reason we provide these educational opportunities.

"The College has a duty to support and facilitate the needs of students during their course of studies."

The cancellation has been controversial.

A group of politically active Inuit calling themselves the Qanak Collective published an open letter to the College.

"We believe Nunavut Arctic College could and should be a leading centre of Inuit knowledge, learning and leadership development in Canada," the letter states. It says the cancellation raises questions about "systemic barriers within the education system.

"Why would anyone commit to leaving their community or housing or job for higher education if the College will render their sacrifices pointless, apparently on a whim?"

The group is calling on the college to apologize to the students and reinstate the program immediately.