Quebec says 500,000 students benefitting from post-strike catchup-plan
Posted February 7, 2024 11:47 am.
Last Updated February 7, 2024 1:04 pm.
Nearly 150,000 students across thousands of schools in Quebec will receive tutoring services as part of the provincial government’s catch-up plan after lengthy public-sector strikes.
Education Minister Bernard Drainville unveiled the $300-million plan last month to help students make up for lost time after being out of class several weeks.
The province offered an update, saying more than 500,000 Quebec students from 2,501 are benefitting from at least one program under the plan.
In addition to the 145,540 students receiving tutoring services, the province shared the following figures:
- 215,013 students will receive educational support services in 2,010 schools;
- 76,016 students with special needs will participate in specialized educational activities in 1,639 schools;
- 24,514 immigrant or allophone students will receive support services for learning French in 1,036 schools;
- 11,863 students will participate in catch-up activities offered in 473 schools during spring break;
- 28,578 students will benefit from other measures in 682 schools.
“I am happy to see the positive response from schools and teachers, school staff and everyone who raised their hands to help our students,” Drainville said in a news release.
“I would like to thank all the educational organizations as well as our partners, who have mobilized to make this catch-up plan a reality. Thank you in particular to the teachers, school staff and school teams who responded to the call.”
Major public-sector unions reached tentative deals with the provincial government days before the new year.
One of those unions — the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE) — went on an unlimited strike on Nov. 23, resulting in the closure of 800 schools for 22 days, keeping some 368,000 students home.
Other schools were shuttered for 11 days sprinkled over several weeks as teachers represented by a different negotiating bloc held strike days of varying lengths.
Private school students missed no class at all.
