The Alberta Liberal Party is putting education at the forefront of their election campaign, with party leader David Khan announcing a plan that would reduce class sizes and increase support for inclusive education.
Khan committed to putting a cap on class sizes, which would be slowly phased in starting with Kindergarten to Grade 3 classes.
“The NDP government failed to reduce classroom size and meet class size guidelines over the past four years,” Khan said at the Liberal Party headquarters in Calgary. “Class size guidelines have failed Alberta’s students and teachers for two decades.”
Khan didn’t give a number of students the classes would be capped at, but rather suggested if Albertans elect the Liberals in the upcoming election, his government would consult with teachers to narrow down a maximum number of students.
The Liberal plan would also include more support for students with special needs. Khan is committing more funding for teacher’s aides as well as robust individualized education plans for students who need them.
The announcement follows a previous commitment by the Liberals to ban seclusion rooms in Alberta schools.
As for how the party would fund these initiatives, Khan said a funding model will be announced when the Liberals unveil their economic platform later in the campaign.
“We’re going to be looking at more accountability mechanisms so that funding for classroom sizes, for inclusive education, for children who have coded special needs,” Khan said. “We want to make sure the funding gets to the students and the goals that it’s allocated for in the education budget.”
While much of the focus of the NDP and UCP during the election campaign has been on the economy, energy industry and healthcare, the Alberta Liberals see education as a top priority.
Khan believes his party’s education plan would be a driving force to spur economic growth if elected.
“We need a strong education system that supports our students for strong economic growth, for increased productivity and to make sure our workforce is the most equipped workforce in the world,” he said.
Albertans head to the polls on April 16th.