Students claim province needs a lesson in adult education
Posted June 21, 2012 7:12 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – None of them are happy about cuts to adult education.
More than 100 people showed up to a forum in Vancouver last night to make a case for the classes, which allow people to complete high school or upgrade their marks.
“It gives people a second chance to reach their goals and their dreams,” explains Vancouver School Board Vice Chair Mike Lombardi.
He suggests a provincial move to tie adult education funding to the number of students who actually complete the courses makes it nearly impossible to provide some classes.
“How can you plan on that basis? We have to hire the teachers, we have to organize the classes, and then if they don’t complete the courses, the school districts don’t get the money?”
Lombardi adds some courses have seen funding completely cut off.
Patrick Bluejacket is taking adult education classes, hoping to one day get in to law school. “No one from the government has come to look at these courses; they just looked at a piece of paper and said ‘well that doesn’t makes sense.'”
He hopes the government will reconsider once they realize the type of impact their cuts will have on people’s ability to get an education.
“I didn’t see anybody from the government in my class taking a look at it, seeing what it actually does, what’s the process, you know, what students are learning,” claims Bluejacket.
He believes the government is attempting to trivialize the cuts. “History isn’t a hobby, it’s not a bunch of adults sitting around taking a pottery class. We’re learning about things that we need to learn about as Canadians.”
The Vancouver School Board will use the public’s feedback at the forum in their efforts to get full funding restored. They have written a letter to Education Minister George Abbott, requesting a meeting on the subject.
