Following the amendment to Bill 96, English-speaking CEGEP students from the historic community will be able to take three French courses rather than three courses in French, while French-speaking and allophone students will have to demonstrate their mastery of the common language through three courses in French and passing the uniform French test. However, Bill 96 is still not acceptable according to the student associations of Cégeps Dawson (Dawson Student Union) and John Abbott (Student Union of John Abbott College), among others.
Certainly, the section of Bill 96 on college education has significant shortcomings, in particular the fact of not considering a special status for Aboriginal people and the inconsistency of having to take five French courses in four sessions.
That said, in the rhetoric of the student groups mentioned, it is primarily individual freedoms that are invoked in arguments against the law.
It would be bad for their academic success, leading in particular to a drop in their R score. It would be more “difficult” and “discouraging” for French-speaking and allophone students to perfect their English. This would jeopardize their advantage in the labor market, the reason why many of them enroll in English-speaking institutions.
English in the course
I don’t see why French as a second language courses would be especially difficult and worrisome. These courses would be adapted to the language level of the students.
Moreover, should we remember that young students from almost everywhere in the world must study English during their course? Yet no one questions it, even though it is potentially damaging to their grades.
As for the three French courses, we take a dim view of the fact that they will be imposed on immigrant students. However, nothing could be more logical; it is the official and largely majority language of their host country! What we see as a disadvantage for the job market would, on the contrary, be an asset, because fluency in French is obviously useful in Quebec and Canada, but also internationally.
And for Francophones and allophones who may be forced to enroll in a Francophone CEGEP because of the enrollment cap in Anglophone CEGEPs, we should not forget that there are several other ways to improve your English: academies, courses optional at CEGEP, student exchanges, language exchanges, travel, etc.
Dissatisfaction
We come to crown it all when we say that the cap would disadvantage French-speaking students, since English-speaking students would be given priority and that thus, “admission to college institutions would not be based exclusively on merit”. So, it must be understood that respect for meritocracy is more important than defending the common language of Quebec!
Obviously, these new regulations will imply additional efforts on the part of the students, and in a certain way, one can understand their dissatisfaction. But we must question the individualist argument, and not let it morally dominate the defense of the rights of Quebec society, in this case, the defense of its common language.