‘Unrealistic’ timeline given to English CEGEP for Bill 96 changes
Posted January 18, 2023 4:08 pm.
Last Updated January 18, 2023 6:33 pm.
Many have pointed the finger at English CEGEPs for causing the decline of the French language in Quebec.
The Director General of Vanier College John McMahon disagrees.
“Francophone students who have chosen to pursue CEGEP studies in English do not cease to be French,” he said.
The province’s National Assembly adopted Bill 96 over half a year ago, requiring English schools to apply major changes to protect the French language. For Montreal English CEGEP Vanier College, meeting the bill’s demands will be tough.
“We have always expressed our concern with the timeline, believing that it is completely unrealistic,” said McMahon. “We still feel that way. There is no need to rush this through.”
According to McMahon, CEGEPs have recently received a guide to implement the new language policies, requiring all colleges to pass them by June 2023. But there are still many outstanding questions that need answering.
McMahon has yet to receive answers about the cap number of students who can enroll at English colleges and how Vanier College can accommodate students with special needs with meeting their French course requirements.
His major concern, however, is the implementation of the three additional courses in French for all students, including Anglophone students, on top of the mandatory French-language courses they must already take.
“We don’t know what those courses are going to replace,” said McMahon.
“A lot of these questions that we have in terms of the implementation could have been avoided if we would have worked with the government,” he added.
Quebec’s Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry promised to provide sufficient financial assistance to help English CEGEPs carry out the language laws. According to McMahon, no details were given about the resource. CityNews reached out to the Minister for more details, but did not hear back.
“The main thing we need is flexibility,” McMahon asserted.
“We’re interested in working with the Minister of Higher Education, the politicians, and the government in order to continue to discuss how we can implement the requirements of Bill 96, meet the objectives of Bill 96, but to do so in a manner that is conducive to students’ success and that is realistic.”
McMahon believes that Quebec’s Ministry of Higher Education have expressed recent statements showing a possibility for openness and flexibility to properly implement the requirements from Bill 96 for English colleges.
