SHERBROOKE, March 10, 2019. —The MNA representing Saint-Laurent and Official Opposition Critic for Education and Higher Education, Ms. Marwah Rizqy, deplores the instability created by Minister of Education Jean-François Roberge within the education sector. All education sector stakeholders are concerned about not having the necessary infrastructures or the sufficient financial and human resources they will require to meet the Education Minister’s demands. Ms. Rizqy hopes that the Quebec budget, which will be tabled on March 21, will truly place education and valuing the teaching profession at the heart of the CAQ government’s priorities.
The Coalition Avenir Québec has committed to building the most beautiful schools in the world, to enhancing student services and to deploying 4 year-old kindergarten throughout Quebec. Given the shortage of teachers and the $900M dollar decrease to the budget for school boards, Ms. Rizqy is calling for a detailed five-year plan for the deployment of four year-old kindergartens across Quebec, so that we can have a clearer portrait of the means Minister Roberge has at his disposal to follow through on the many promises made by his party. Ms. Rizqy also expects that the government will maintain the commitments made in the previous budget, in particular the addition of 10,200 additional employees in schools and $1B per year over a ten year period for educational infrastructures.
The Minister of Education needs to seize the opportunity of the budget being tabled to make his intentions clear and reassure a worried education sector. I invite Mr. Roberge to demonstrate a willingness to collaborate with education sector stakeholders and consider their concerns. They are people who work in our schools every day and as such are very aware of the challenges they face. The minister needs to be transparent and turn his words into actions.
– Marwah Rizqy, MNA representing Saint-Laurent and Official Opposition Critic for Education and Higher Education
