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THE
ADVISORY BOARD ON ENGLISH EDUCATION SUBMITS REPORT TO THE
MINISTER OF EDUCATION
Montreal,
January 27, 1999. — The Advisory Board on English
Education submitted to the Minister of Education, François
Legault, its report entitled A Challenge for the English
School Boards: Regionalization and Vocational Education, Report
to the Minister of Education, December 1998.
Chaired
by Gretta Chambers, the Advisory Board on English Education
has 18 members. The Advisory Board’s mandate is to advise
the Minister of Education on all matters affecting the educational
services offered in English elementary and secondary schools.
The Board meets once a month.
Reform
of Elementary and Secondary Education and Opening Doors to
the Labour Market
Two areas
addressed by the Task Force on English Education Report
to the Minister of Education (1992) remain of considerable
concern in 1999: career preparation and English education
in the regions. In 1998 the Advisory Board revisited these
two subjects with a view to taking stock of progress in career
preparation among Québec English students. The context
of this study is the newly enacted government policy which
places responsibility for management of services on local
and regional bodies.
The Advisory
Board report for 1998, entitled A Challenge for English
School Boards: Regionalization and Vocational Education,
examines the state of vocational education in English school
boards, where more than 6 350 students were enrolled
in vocational education programs in 1996-97. Ministry data
indicate that more than 1 370 students received diplomas
in vocational education in English in 1997 in the youth and
adult sectors. The Board examines the impact of the policy
proposals by the Minister of Education to pay closer attention
to student guidance and counselling, and to reinstate vocational
education as a valid educational option (Québec
Schools on Course, p. 9).
Reform
of Government Structures: Collaboration in Local and Regional
Development
The Advisory
Board also examined the government’s new regionalization
policy. Since the Socio- economic Summit of 1996, structures
have been put in place by the Ministère des Régions
for the implementation of a local and regional development
policy. Local Development Centres (LDCs) have been accredited
and funded as the single local organization providing support
for business on the Regional County Municipality (RCM) territory.
The LDCs work closely with and as an advisory body to corresponding
Local Employment Centres (LECs) put in place by the Ministère
de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité (Emploi-Québec)*.
Together LDCs and LECs promote employment, manage human resources
and training and provide information, orientation and training.
English
school boards cover vast territories requiring them to interact
regularly with numerous Local Development Centres and Local
Employment Centres.
Recommendations
concerning Vocational Education and the Regionalization of
Government Services:
- That
the Ministère de l’Éducation collaborate
with the Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité*
and the Ministère des Régions to assure appropriate
English-community representation on ministerial and regional
management and decision-making bodies.
- That
the Ministère de l’Éducation assure full
membership of the English community on the Comité
national des programmes d’études en formation
professionnelle et technique.
- That
the Ministère de l’Éducation facilitate
English community collaboration in the Politique active
du marché du travail (PAMT), especially in the Montréal
region, through the offices of the Ministère des
Régions and the Ministère de la Métropole*.
- That
the Ministère de l’Éducation reinforce
the mandate of the Comité consultatif sur la formation
professionnelle et technique en langue anglaise (CCFPLA)
to include the annual task of evaluating the implementation
and effectiveness of vocational education in English.
- That
consideration be given to a plan of action for English vocational
education, in collaboration with all the partners.
- That
the English school boards and their partners renew and expand
the mandate of the English-Language Vocational Education
Council (ELVEC).
- That
the English school boards and the English CEGEPs harmonize
their offering of services in vocational education and training.
- That
the Ministère de l’Éducation and the
English school boards provide accessible, knowledgeable,
student-adapted counselling services at all levels of education,
especially for secondary school students.
- That
the English school boards examine levers to promote quality
vocational education for English students across Québec.
- The
Advisory Board report was written before the recent Québec
government Cabinet changes. The Ministère de la Solidarité
sociale and the Ministère des Affaires municipales
et de la Métropole are in place as of December 21st,
1998.
- For
Information:
- Jim
Cullen, Secretary
Advisory Board on English Education
Telephone:(514) 873-5656
Fax: (514) 864-4181
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