QUEBEC – A resurrected intensive English program for grade six students will be mandatory but will not necessarily be applied across the board, according to Quebec’s Education Minister Yves Bolduc.
Bolduc said he wanted to implement the program with flexibility, taking exceptions and special cases into account.
If studies show that intensive English lessons have adverse effects on certain kinds of students, the Ministry of Education will take that into consideration, Bolduc said.
In 2011, former premier Jean Charest announced his intention to implement the measure in all Quebec schools.
But the Parti Quebecois derailed the plan when it was elected in 2012, allowing individual schools freedom of choice in deciding whether to put the program into practice.
Intensive English will be taught in Montreal but the minister has promised to be “vigilant” in making sure French language acquisition does not suffer.
Bolduc did not indicate exactly when the plan will be put into place, saying it will be at least two years before it begins.
