A PQ government would ban all publicly funded schools, public or private, from selecting students for particular programs based on grades or behavior.
This proposal is part of a detailed set of resolutions on education obtained by The Canadian Press that will be debated this weekend at the National Council of the Parti Québécois (PQ) in Saint-Hyacinthe.
This meeting will include workshops on equal opportunities, improving the role of teachers, as well as pre-school development and support for teenagers.
The PQ even took the opportunity to wink at its option in its list of proposals by quoting former minister Jacques-Yvan Morin: “education is the key to sovereignty”.
Private schools
In addition, the PQ, which had already positioned itself for the end of subsidies to private centers, this time qualifies its position by proposing to “nationalize” them.
So, if he takes power in 2026, he would offer all subsidized private schools to be 100% funded and then go “contract”, or even remain unsubsidized and lose their funding – somewhat like CHSLDs, whether approved. or not
The current model of chartered private schools “deepens inequalities, divides our society and goes against the fundamental values of fairness and equal opportunities of the Parti Québécois”, we read.
In addition, a PQ government would commit to ensuring that all state-funded schools offer a choice of specific projects. On the other hand, we would no longer be able to exclude students based on their academic results or behavior.
With this set of measures, the PQ aims to guarantee equal opportunities and wants to put an end to what is called “the three-speed school”: a school that reproduces inequalities, where “students receive a differentiated education according to his social origin or his academic performance”, we can read.
By three-tier school, we mean a public school with a regular program, a selective public school with special programs or even a private school.
In a May 2023 newsletter, the Observatory of Inequalities of Quebec stated: “if families do not worry about the choice of school and program for their child during the transition from primary to secondary school, they run the risk of seeing him face difficulties in accessing and succeeding in post-secondary education.”
The Higher Education Council concluded in a report that Quebec schools were the most unequal in the country.
Even the UN is now asking Canada to report “on the measures taken to ensure equal access for students to education within Quebec’s three-tier school system.”
However, Education Minister Bernard Drainville has already decided that he has no intention of ending three-level schools.
Revaluate the profession
To improve the teaching profession, the PQ especially proposes to improve working conditions by reducing student/teacher ratios, but also by creating an independent commission to solve the lack of teachers by proposing measures.
Finally, in the preschool development and adolescent support workshop, the PQ wants, among others, to improve the detection of mental health problems and their treatment.
In addition to the ban on personal electronic devices in classrooms, which it has been defending for a long time, the party proposes to better analyze the knowledge about the use of screens in schools, and draw up ministerial guidelines on this subject, to better equip the youth. people and families.
The PQ is currently galvanized by the polls and its recent victory against the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) in the by-election for the Jean-Talon riding.
This week, the party presented the financial report of a sovereign Quebec that has been widely discussed in the news.
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