In a final effort to block the adoption of Bill 23, professors, teachers and remedial teachers launched a “call for mutiny” on Wednesday to the members of the Coalition Avenir Québec so that they vote against the Minister of Education’s reform. ‘Education, Bernard Drainville.
Nearly 60 representatives of the education sector sent a letter to the members of the CAQ caucus so that they vote according to their conscience. The debate on the adoption of the Drainville reform began on Tuesday. The bill is likely to pass Thursday.
“Think about education, your children, your role as an MP if you want to continue to serve Quebec. At 25% [d’appuis dans le plus récent sondage sur les intentions de vote]you are likely to find yourself at 15-20% shortly,” write the signatories.
“You alone have the power to “protect” Quebec, your government in power and your salary as an MP. This is a call for mutiny, because the captain and his first mate are in the hold while the iceberg [que représente le projet de loi 23] will hit if you vote yes [jeudi] ”, is written in the email.
The signatories add that “all the players” in the education sector are against the reform, “except those who cannot speak and those who think they will benefit from it, including a few researchers who dare to assert that their research results are conclusive and that their academic colleagues have done poorly in teaching and research for years.”
Earlier this week, education unions, university professors and public school defenders asked Minister Drainville to abandon his reform. This concentrates several powers in the hands of the Minister of Education, notably that of overturning the decisions of school service centers (CSS) and appointing and dismissing their general directors — except in the case of English-speaking institutions. The minister also wants to have his say on the continuing training of teachers.
Oppositions in the National Assembly are firmly opposed to the reform, a project that they say is driven by a “politburo” and has the air of a “dinner for idiots”. Minister Drainville believes instead that the acquisition of more “proven data” by his ministry will have positive effects on the academic success of students. His bill provides, among other things, for the creation of a National Institute of Excellence in Education. This will include, among other things, identifying best practices in education and synthesizing knowledge about student academic success.