Education and vocational training have long been regarded as the most direct paths to employment and to greater participation in the economic benefits of Canadian society. Until the educational disparities between Indians and non-Indians have been removed, the most damning indictment of the failure of British Columbia's educators will continue to be existence of native Indians as the single most poorly housed and most frequently unemployed, unhealthy, alienated, impoverished group of British Columbians. Many studies have commented upon the low levels of education prevalent in British Columbian Indian communities. Median level of education reported among British Columbia adult Indians in the 1950's was grade five. By 1971, 18.9% of the adult Indian population had less than five years of schooling, while 41.37% had greater than nine years. Three factors contributed experience of native adults between 1961 and 1971: the 46% increase in the adult population, with a proportionately larger number of more educated young adults; the decline, due to mortality, of older adults who had little or no education; and the significant increased participation in academic upgrading programs (9,133 enrollees from a population of approximately 30,000 adults from 1964-1976). Evidence from the 1971 census data indicated that rural Indians with higher levels of education are moving to urban areas and those living in urban areas tend to complete more years of schooling. (NEC)