Education
Most parents want their children to have an excellent education. The Fraser Institute (FI) taps into this concern with their much ballyhooed "Report Card." This manipulation of public opinion is meant to undermine confidence in public education. It doesn't help schools serve our kids.
The FI claims that its ranking of the province's secondary schools allows parents to "see how their school compares with others and use the information to make choices for their children." But what is being measured and how insightful is the information?
This week, Vancouver is host to the "World Education Market." According to the Reed Midem Organization, the show's Paris-based organizer, this event is a unique opportunity for key players in the global education business "to create dynamic business partnerships and joint ventures." With far more modest resources, the Coalition for Public Education is sponsoring a two-day counter-conference focusing on the dangers of corporate intrusion into our schools. What is all the fuss about?
Bill 74 is the most recent step in the Ministry's goal of centralizing control and decentralizing responsibility in education--so long as the carrying out of those responsibilities is in accordance with Ministry demands. This is all about improving the "quality," and "accountability" of education, according to the Minister. But there is no less effective or destructive a system of public education than one that is severely underfunded, or one that has no significant level of responsiveness to local needs.
For the second year running, BC takes first place in the CCPA's alternative guide to post-secondary education (PSE) in Canada. Unlike rankings that misleadingly pit institution against institution, "Missing Pieces" evaluates Canadian provinces' based on their commitment to maintaining quality, equity, accessibility and accountability in their universities and colleges.
Ottawa – Selon un rapport annuel publié aujourd’hui par le Centre canadien de politiques alternatives (CCPA), la mosaïque des politiques provinciales crée un énorme déséquilibre des possibilités d’éducation au Canada.
"Wherever you can, count," said Francis Galton, founder of the late 19th-century Eugenics Society and one of the fathers of "mental measurement." A hundred years later, this thinking has taken firm hold in the educational establishment both in Canada and internationally.
For the second year in a row, tuition fees for university education are rising faster in British Columbia than anywhere else in Canada, with an average increase of 67% in two years. Colleges are implementing even sharper increases. But is this a problem? Universities and colleges argue that higher fees are necessary to fund the demand for new spaces and ensure quality in the face of shortfalls in government funding.
BC's new Education Minister will have a lot on his plate in the short lead-up to the 2004 provincial budget. Many are hoping that Mr. Christensen will repair government relations with teachers and school boards. If he is to be successful, there is some basic math that must be done first.
Parents and teachers -- and most of all, students -- know that schools have been closed, teaching and administrative positions have been cut, and class sizes have grown in the past couple of years.