Higher education in the Northwest Territories

In Canada, education is a provincial or territorial concern and there is no national regulation nor accrediting body.

[1] Up to 1945, the Anglican and Roman Catholic church organizations and missions were mainly responsible for education in the Northwest Territories, with schools and nearby student residences typically being set up in higher populated towns.

Starting in 1959, the federal government of Canada began programs that would see it taking more interest and involvement in the Territories' system of education.

[6] To institute a model of education that better served the community at large and not just those requiring technical skills, Arctic College was established in 1984 in both Fort Smith and Iqaluit and grew rapidly to consist of campuses across all regions of the NWT.

In 1984 the Great Slave Helicopters Flight Training Centre opened by Rodney Wood and Gabe Devenyi, which represented one of the few Yellowknife Career Colleges and Trade Schools.

[7] By 1987, it was agreed that community learning centres across the North would join the college system, a process which was completed in 1990.