MONTREAL -- Two out of three Quebecers are concerned about their children's educational success during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a CROP survey carried out on behalf of the Centrale des unions du Québec (CSQ).
The survey suggests that Quebecers are worried as the school year is about to begin, especially for students who have learning difficulties - 90 per cent of respondents believe that these children will be the most affected by the COVID-19 crisis in Quebec.
With this in mind, 92 per cent of survey participants believe that the government should deploy more resources to help these students.
Respondents, in fact, are worried about all the young Quebecers who will be heading to school in a few days. Sixty-six per cent of them said they were "very or somewhat worried" about the impact of the pandemic on student success.
Only five per cent of respondents were "not at all" worried.
According to the survey, Quebecers are divided on how well schools are prepared for the school year: 52 per cent believe that schools are "little or not at all prepared" at the start of the school year, against 48 per cent who believe the opposite.
In addition, the CSQ asked respondents what the government's priority should be at the moment, and a large majority (64 per cent) felt that it would be necessary to reinvest in public services, against only 36 per cent, who would rather see a reduction in public services.
The CROP survey consulted 1,000 Quebecers between July 22 and July 29. Experts in research and methodology find that it is impossible to attribute a margin of error to an online survey.
REINVESTMENT REQUIRED
According to the CSQ, the results of this survey show the need to reinvest in education to help students with difficulties.
"Long before the crisis, the needs were already dire and they have not diminished. On the contrary, the majority of students have not attended school for almost six months," said CSQ president Sonia Éthier, in a news release. "The school teams are now waiting for an ambitious, innovative and structured response to tackle head-on the inequalities that have been amplified by the crisis."
REVISED PLAN
Last Monday, Quebec Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge presented a revised back-to-school plan.
Under the new measures, the wearing of a mask will be compulsory from the 5th grade up, and the "bubble" concept has been widened to allow children of the same class to rub shoulders with each other.
The new plan also provides that, in the event of a coronavirus outbreak, students will be able to switch to distanced education.
Some criticized the minister for not addressing the need for students to catch up in his plan, given that the previous school year was cut by six months.
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2020.
