Throne speech promises on class composition are dangerous

October 3, 2011

In the Throne speech on October 3, the government announced that it “will dedicate funding to address issues of class composition.”  That sounds good, but the actual plan does not.

The BCTF has seen an outline of the plan.  The government proposed a framework for a “Class Organization Fund” (COF) that would pit classes, schools, and school districts against one another in a race for scarce resources.  Everyone would have to make the case for how their need is greater than that in another class or school.

“Ultimately it would create competition between vulnerable students for the very services they so urgently need to succeed at school. It’s profoundly unfair.”

“What students and teachers need,” Susan Lambert said, “is a return to the fair and objective processes illegally removed from the collective agreement.  This plan offers no assurance of universal access to services based on the needs of students.” More...