MONTREAL – The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) has entered the Quebec election fray to voice its concerns over the lack of support for school boards in the province.
EMSB chairperson, Angela Mancini is asking to meet with party representatives to discuss the future of Quebec’s education system.
“We provide perhaps one of the most important services in society,” she said in a statement.
“Yet you would not know this from following this election campaign.”
Mancini’s observation comes after Pauline Marois announced that if elected, the Parti Quebecois would further tighten language laws to restrict access to English CEGEPs – or junior colleges.
“This is yet another attempt to harm the English public education system while at the same time telling adults that they do not have the right to free choice,” Mancini said.
But her criticism did not stop with the PQ.
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According to Mancini, the Coalition Avenir Quebec’s proposal to get rid of Quebec school boards altogether is “unconstitutional.”
“School boards serve a very important purpose and in the case of the English community, we represent one of the last remaining elected English bodies.”
Mancini also voiced concern over the Liberal Party’s vague stance on school boards, saying that the EMSB would like a clear answer as to what Jean Charest has planned.
The EMSB has seen a significant drop in students since the Charter of the French Language (or Bill 101) was introduced in 1977 – making French the language of instruction from kindergarten to secondary school.
Student registration numbers received another hit in 2002, when the Parti Quebecois introduced Bill 104 – a measure intended to stop Quebec students forced to attend French-language schools from taking advantage of a loophole where they could attend English private schools for at least a year in order to get around Bill 101.
“A lot of damage has been done to our English system,” confirmed Mancini.
“Our board had more than 27,000 students before that law was adopted.” The forecast for this year is for fewer than 20,000.
The future for English school boards in Quebec looks grim.
In Montreal, the EMSB expects to lose over 4,600 students (20 per cent) by 2017, while Francophone school boards on the Island of Montreal will increase by 18,000.
Sound off: What do you think? Should the Quebec government allow its citizens the right to choose the language of instruction they want their children taught in? Let us know on Facebook.
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