After strikes, Quebec's education minister presents catch-up plan

The Quebec government announced its back-to-school plan including $300 million for tutoring services. You can read the latest details here.

The same day Quebec students are set to return to class, Education Minister Bernard Drainville will table a catch-up plan for students who have missed weeks of school due to public sector strikes.

His announcement is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. today. Drainville has already said ministerial exams will be postponed to the end of January and beginning of February.

The fall term ended abruptly for 368,000 students when teachers represented by the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE) launched an unlimited strike on Nov. 23, shutting down about 800 schools.

Union delegates voted to end the strike five weeks later, after they reached an agreement in principle with the provincial government.

The common front or Front common — a coalition of Quebec public sector unions representing about 420,000 workers — went on strike for 11 days last year, bringing the number of students out of school in Quebec to about 1.2 million at the height of the strike action. The coalition reached an agreement in principle with the provincial government on both pay and working conditions Sunday.

Kathleen Legault, president of the Association montréalaise des directions d'établissement scolaire, an association representing principals and managers, says teachers — who were back at work Monday — had hoped for more lead time to prepare.

"While Mr. Drainville presents his plan, they will be in the class with the students, so they won't even be able to listen to the minister at that time," she said.

She says she thinks the main challenge for teachers will be getting students with different levels of knowledge up to speed.

She says giving targeted help to students who need it would be more effective than extending the school year or eliminating March break for everyone.

"Some of the students will have almost no consequences, and others will have really big issues," she said. "We wouldn't want to put too much pressure on students because when you're under pressure, really, you're not able to learn."

Marion Miller, a high school art teacher who is part of the FAE, said she's excited to see her students again, but the absence of a catch-up plan has been causing anxiety for her and her colleagues.

"Once again, we feel like we're kind of the last priority, and it's not important to give us notice so that we can get our things ready," Miller said. "That is definitely frustrating."

Knowing that some of the course content will fall by the wayside this year because of the lost class time, she says she'll be focusing on teaching her students the essentials.

She hopes the government will either push back the upcoming February report card by a month or get rid of it, like it did during the pandemic.

"It is a balance of saying, 'we have to give them feedback, and we have to give them formative assessment, but we don't want to stress them,'" she said.