The education gap begins at the secondary school level. The Assembly of First Nations has highlighted that, based on INAC data, about 70 percent of Aboriginal students on-reserve will never complete high school given the graduation rates which range from 28.9 percent to 32.1 percent annually. The 2004 Report of the Auditor General of Canada examined the education gap that existed in 2001 using data from the 1996 and 2001 censuses and estimated the time required to close this gap and for Aboriginal people living on reserves to reach parity with the Canadian population as a whole. This analysis showed that there was very little progress in this five year period in closing the gap in high school graduation rates between Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal populations, and the Auditor General estimated that it would take about 28 years for Aboriginal people living on reserves to reach parity with the Canadian population.5
At the post-secondary level, 2001 census data used to compare the post-secondary educational achievement of Aboriginal people and the overall Canadian population show that about 27 percent of the First Nations population (North American Indian) between 15 and 44 years of age hold a post-secondary certificate, diploma, or degree, compared with 46 percent of the Canadian population within the same age group.6 In addition, Statistics Canada has reported that based on 2001 census data, the proportion of the people reporting Aboriginal identity with post-secondary qualifications increased from 33 percent in to 38 percent. However it is important to note that this continues to be part of an overall trend for the Canadian population as a whole.
Statistics Canada 2001 Census data has provided some insights into the profile of Aboriginal post-secondary learners, highlighting that the Aboriginal population is drawn to trade and college credentials and tends to go back for post-secondary studies later in life.
The 2001 Census results show that for the population reporting Aboriginal identity, th proportion with a trade certificate increased from 14 percent to 16 percent, and that in effect, th proportion with a trade certificate in 2001 was higher among Aboriginal people, where they represented 16 percent of the working-age population, compared with 13 percent in the non Aboriginal population.7
Aboriginal people with college diplomas increased their share of the working age population from 13 percent to 15 percent. This is compared to about 8 percent of Aboriginal people with a university education, also up from five years earlier when 6 percent had a university credential. When comparing with the non-Aboriginal population, the proportion with college qualifications was close, 15 percent among Aboriginal people and 18 percent among non-Aboriginal.