Dear Editor:
B.C. has been falling behind on public education funding levels compared to its provincial cohorts since 2004 and the effects are noticeable. Overworked teachers struggle to keep overcrowded and under-resourced classrooms functional while after-school programs are being starved out of existence.
More parents are finding the need to fill in the gaps with private programs — programs that families can afford to highly varying degrees.
Special needs programs are in dire straits while adult literacy programs and lunch programs are being sliced paper thin. Schools in poorer areas fare the worst, but even wealthier areas like North Vancouver have been forced to cut programs.
The primary role of many parent advisory committees appears to now be fundraising for the school. It is commonplace for parents and teachers alike to donate thousands of dollars a year to keep their schools functioning.
Cuts to public education are likely to continue if we fail to object to the shift of incentives towards the private education system. As public education continues to suffer, parents will be increasingly misled to believe that public education cannot be an effective choice for their children and the public will be made to believe that it’s not worth funding. Decreased enrolment and “poor quality of education” will be used as justification for further cuts and closures while funding is diverted to private schools.
If public schools are closed, sale of the land will soon follow. Government repurchase in the future, if expansion is later required, will become extremely expensive and difficult. Private schools will predictably fill the demand and the process of privatization and the development of a tiered educational system continues.
Universal access to good education is supposed to provide an equalizing effect, which is especially important in a province where one in five children live in poverty. By taking away equal opportunity for academic success we are only adding further barriers for children to grow into successful adults. Even putting empathy aside, this is simply bad for the economy and the province long term.
Bowinn Ma
North Vancouver
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