DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. – It’s back to square one for Quebec’s Liberal government to draft a bill that will increase the province’s graduation rate which remains far below other provinces in Canada.
There’s conclusive research on how the problem could be fixed, says one expert but it’ll take political will.
READ MORE: Quebec education minister scraps Bill 86
“The worst situation is to be a boy in the French public school board with learning disabilities,” explained Laval University Education Professor, Edige Royer.
The graduation rate in Quebec is more than 12 percent lower than in neighbouring Ontario.
“One out of three boys and one out of five girls don’t have anything, any kind of diploma,” Royer said.
Royer has been advising governments and political parties on education policy for 25 years.
At the Quebec Liberal Party convention in Drummondville, Royer presented several key measures that could help improve student success outcomes in the province.
“We are, as a society, convinced that every child should be in learning until age 18,” he said.
Despite this apparent consensus on the research, the government recently defeated a motion from the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) opposition to add a pre-kindergarten at age four and to make it mandatory to stay in school until age 18, or until a student receives a diploma.
READ MORE: CAQ wants to raise age to stay in school, reduce dropout rate
However, the education minister said Sunday he is in favour of re-introducing similar legislation that excludes any penalty for students who don’t finish school. He said the CAQ’s proposal to bar high school dropouts from working would stigmatize them.
There’s no timeline for tabling this legislation: it could be as far away as 2025. Royer said that would 20 years too late.
Comments