'It's unjust': Parents worry report cards won't be in on time for Que. CEGEP application deadline

Maria Ponomareva is one of many parents in the province watching the ongoing teachers' strike with concern.

Her son is in his final year of high school in a French-speaking public school, whose teachers have been on indefinite strike since Nov. 23.

She is concerned because the application deadline for CEGEP is March 1 and the Federation of CEGEPs said that deadline will not change.

"They may not have their second trimester grades on time for applications to CEGEP," she said. "It's unjust because it's very different when you have the grades from fourth grade [Sec 4] and the first two trimesters of fifth grade [Sec 5] versus fourth grade [Sec 4] and just the first trimester."

In Quebec's French-language school system, Sec 4 refers to Grade 10 and Sec 5 to Grade 11. 

She noted that in the final year of high school is when students like her son start taking physics and chemistry, and that math and French courses are different.

Also, she added, many students begin working harder to improve their chances of getting into programs or schools they want.

"There may be some misunderstandings in the first trimester that may be figured out and caught up in the second trimester. I think it's a major injustice," said Ponomareva.

Federation of CEGEPs president Bernard Tremblay said he understands that parents are stressed about the upcoming deadline, but that pushing the application deadline back is not being considered.

"It's very hard to move that date," he said. "There's a series of activities that will have to be done so that we are ready for August. It may seem a long period, but people are submitting their choices, [and] we have to react to that choice, according to the capacity, every CEGEP."

If a student is denied at one CEGEP, Tremblay added, they need to be able to fall back on second or third choices.

"It's a process that that is quite complex, and it's hard to move that not just for an organization, but for the impact that it would have on students," said Tremblay.

He noted that students moving to another region to go to school need to know early so they can plan their moves.

For Ponomareva and other parents in the French system, it is a difficult answer to swallow. She said that, unlike during the COVID-19 pandemic, certain students will have their second report cards while others, like hers, will not.

"It's just very unfair and also it is a problem that can be solved," she said. "It's a decision. No one's going to die if it's the first of April instead of the first of March."

Tremblay said it is up to the Ministry of Higher Education about what documents are needed to apply and what date the applications must be submitted.

He said, however, that colleges in Quebec are "very flexible" and understand what high school students are going through.

"That's one of our main characteristics, so we'll do whatever it takes," he said. "At the same time, we need some time to be able to do all the processes, which are quite complex."

He added that it is not a question of just one school, but all of them, and that changing something like an admission deadline is very difficult.

For Ponomareva, the difficult truth is that her son is at a disadvantage.

"These kids, the 30 per cent, their lives are thrown off. They're in a position where they're not equal to the 70 per cent - all the private schools, all the anglophone schools, and the majority of francophone public schools - will have their first and second trimester grades this year. It's not the kids' fault."