Despite the increase in school enrolment, Cree educators are concerned about the low rate of graduation, the educational level and the dropout rate among Cree students. For example, only one Cree obtained a high school diploma in Eastmain in 2001, and only eight Crees obtained such a diploma in Nemaska in 2002. In 2003, 59% of young people aged 15 to 24 years were not in school (CHRD, 2005).

According to Cree educators, many young Crees have only a third-year high school grade level by the end of their fifth year of high school. The main factors cited to explain this phenomenon are as follows:

• The Cree School Board has built its curriculum around instruction in the Cree language, which is interfering with the learning of English and French
• Lack of discipline in the schools and weak parental support

As for the dropout and low graduation rates, Cree educators cite the following factors in particular:

• Early maternity or paternity and difficult family situations
• The distance of postsecondary institutions (there is not a single postsecondary school in the Cree communities)
• Poor job prospects in Cree villages

Cree parents cite other factors:

• A curriculum that is not very stimulating yet is quite demanding
• Lack of parental support and authority, attributable according to parents to the residential school system which deprived many Crees of the presence of their parents during a part of their youth

The young people say that schooling does not seem to be an important selection criterion for local employers: this does not encourage them to continue their education. Since the end of the 1990s, summer courses have been offered to students to help them obtain a high school diploma (D.E.S.).