The Quebec government unveiled a new educational success plan on Wednesday, with a goal of increasing Quebec’s notoriously low high school graduation rate to 85 per cent by 2030.
The plan will begin at the preschool level and will include an emphasis on French, literacy, math and digital skills.
The plan has a budget of $1.3 billion, to be spent over the next five years.
Premier Philippe Couillard the money is only one aspect of the plan. He said the most important part is giving future Quebecers the skills necessary to succeed in an economy that will revolve more and more around the tech sector. He called talent the “new oil.”
“We’re talking about our children, my grandchildren. It’s very personal for people, it’s our future,” he said. “In today’s society, you cannot expect to go ahead based only on natural resources. What people look at now is talent. They want to know, how can I come to Quebec to build self-driving vehicles? You have lithium, that’s fine, I can get it elsewhere. But do you have the right people to invent the vehicle chosen by people 10 years from now?”
The plan was not met by universal acclaim. Quebec English School Boards Association President Jennifer Maccarone said the plan lacks specifics.
“I agree that it’s somewhat vague. The ambition is there and we certainly support the direction that we’re going in because we all want to promote student success. The problem that we have is we’re not sure how we’re supposed to orient ourselves to achieve the objectives that they’ve put out there.”
