Reopen N.L. school for the deaf: Aylward

Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Leader Kevin Aylward wants to reopen the school for the deaf that was closed in St. John’s last year.

"This facility should never have been closed. The closing of this school was an enormous step backward for this province," said Aylward in a news release Thursday.

"A new Liberal government would immediately begin working with parents and students to reopen this school."

With no students set to attend the Newfoundland School for the Deaf in St. John's in the fall of 2010 and no new enrolments projected for the next five years, the provincial government announced the closure of the school on Aug. 2, 2010.

That decision met with criticism from graduates from the school and parents of deaf children.

One former student told CBC News that she believes she never would have gone to Memorial University if she had not attended the school for the deaf, which opened in 1964.