 The "Indian Act" made education compulsory, and where there were no federal days schools—or, in later decades, a provincial public school—a residential school was the only choice.Enrolment statistics indicate that between 20% and 30% of Aboriginal children during the history of the IRS system attended a residential school for at least a year, and many were enrolled for ten years or more.In some cases, children could return home on weekends and holidays, but for those in schools established far away from remote communities, this was not possible.