A strong, well-supported education system that provides learning opportunities for the youngest pre-schooler to adults in post-secondary institutions is the key to a healthy, growing economy and province. The BC Liberals have increased K-12 funding to the highest levels in history, and launched the largest expansion of colleges and universities in the history of the province.
We’ve continually increased the per-pupil grant so that today we have the highest per pupil funding EVER; an estimated $8,323 per pupil in 2009/10, a 33 per cent increase since 2000/01.
We’ve invested nearly $1 billion in literacy and literacy-related initiatives since 2001. Education Minister Shirley Bond and Healthy Living and Sport Minister Mary Polak join WHL players and students in Burnaby for Read to Succeed.
In 2002, we enshrined class size limits in law for the first time ever and updated that law in 2006 to establish new class size limits, and put in place new accountability and transparency measures that require consultation with parents and teachers.
We provide nearly $750 million annually to support students with special needs – the highest level of funding ever.
In 2006, we reached the first-ever negotiated agreement with the BCTF since province-wide bargaining began in 1994.
The negotiated agreement includes a 12 per cent general wage increase to 2011 and teachers receive additional financial incentives to work in rural or remote areas.
We’re investing $43 million to establish 400 StrongStart BC centres across B.C. by 2010. Today there are 190 centres up and running.
We funded nearly 36,700 new public post-secondary spaces between 2001 and 2008.
We created seven new universities since 2001 and new medical schools in the Okanagan, Prince George and Victoria.
We’ve invested more than $1.46 billion to helping students overcome financial barriers to post-secondary education and we pay 100 per cent of the interest on student loans for up to ten years while they are enrolled in full-time studies.
We created the Children’s Education Fund, providing $1,000 for every child born in B.C. (on or after January 1, 2007) to support their ability to access post-secondary education. By the time the child is eligible to access the fund, it’s expected to be $2,200.
Early Learning & Early Child Development We believe in providing free, innovative early learning options for children because early learning has been found to be critical to an individual’s lifetime development.
We know that 1 in 4 children enter kindergarten not developmentally ready to start school, so we created the StrongStart BC program, a free drop-in early learning program for pre-school aged children accompanied by a parent or caregiver.
We’re investing $43 million to establish 400 StrongStart BC centres across B.C. by 2010. Today there are 190 centres up and running.
As promised in our Throne Speech 2008, we established an Early Childhood Learning Agency (ECLA) to assess the feasibility and costs of providing full-day kindergarten for 5-year olds and providing parents the choice of full day kindergarten for 4-year olds by 2010 and 3-year olds by 2012.
We are committed to our vision for expanding early learning opportunities, including full-day kindergarten for 5-year olds.
We were the first Canadian jurisdiction to implement the province-wide Early Development Instrument, a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood survey that assesses children’s state of development upon entering kindergarten.
We established and provide $3 million annually to the Ready, Set, Learn program at more than 1,000 public schools to help parents and families prepare their 3-year olds for kindergarten.
We’ve invested $23 million in the Success by 6 program to support early learning, nutrition, and family services in more than 220 communities across B.C.
We’ve provided over $13 million in funding to support 259 Family Resource Programs that offer family development services for families with children 0-6 years of age.
We became the first Canadian jurisdiction to implement the Roots of Empathy program for school-aged children and the Seeds of Empathy program for preschoolers reaching more than 60,000 BC students.
We dedicate over $7 million annually to support 43 Aboriginal Early Childhood Development initiatives.
We invest $125,000 annually in Books for Babies. Every baby born in B.C. receives a book bag with a book, CD and information on library and community services to help parents prepare their children for a lifetime of reading and learning.
K-12 Class Size, Composition & Special Needs We believe that boards of education, in consultation with parents and teachers, are in the best position to determine appropriate class size and composition within the legislated class size framework. This ensures that all students, regardless of where they live, have the best possible learning conditions. Education Minister Shirley Bond talks about support for children with special needs.
In 2002, we enshrined class size limits in law for the first time ever and updated that law in 2006 to establish new class size limits, and put in place new accountability and transparency measures, and require consultation with parents and teachers.
We have the most comprehensive class size and composition reporting in the country.
The number of classes with more than 30 students decreased nearly 64 per cent throughout the province since 2005/06, the first year of comprehensive class size reporting. Today there are:
6,277 K-12 classes with 15 or fewer students
2,434 K-12 classes with fewer than 10 students
There are now 16,351 classes with assigned education assistants – that’s 24 per cent of all classes and 972 more classes than last year – a six per cent increase.
Since 2005, the number of classes with education assistants have increased 30 per cent.
There are currently 8,815 teacher assistants (FTE) across B.C., an increase of 475 over last year (+5.7 per cent).
We provide nearly $750 million annually to support students with special needs – the highest level of funding ever.
We expanded the school funding formula to provide extra funding for students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), providing $16,000 per student identified with ASD.
We fully fund students with special needs at independent schools. Prior to 2005, independent schools received only half what public schools did for students with special needs.
K-12 Investment and Capital We are providing school boards with record levels of sustainable, predictable funding so that B.C. students can receive a world class education.
K – 12 education spending is at the highest level ever – $5.774 billion – a 34 per cent increase since 2000/01, despite the fact enrolment declined by nearly 53,000 students over the same period.
The Ministry of Education budget alone this year is nearly $5.2 billion and enrolment is anticipated to decline by another 7,000 students next year.
School districts will see an $84-million increase in operating funding this year (2009/10).
We’ve continually increased the per-pupil grant so that today we have the highest per pupil funding ever in B.C., an estimated $8,323 per pupil in 2009/10 – a 33 per cent increase since 2000/01.
We provide supplemental funding to school districts facing significant enrolment decline and to rural/remote school districts to account for significant geographic factors.
We’re dedicating nearly $750 million to support students with special needs.
We’ve invested nearly $1 billion in literacy and literacy-related initiatives since 2001.
We’re investing $43 million to establish 400 StrongStart BC early learning centres across the province, and as of March 2009, there are 190 centres up and running.
By the end of 2008/09, we’ll have committed more than $3.1 billion in school capital and maintenance projects
We’ve committed $1.5 billion to seismically upgrade priority schools (those most in need) to ensure students and staff continue to be safe.
We’ve invested $1.25 million for 12,000 new computers in schools.
Parental Choice & Involvement We believe in providing opportunities for parental involvement and input in their child’s education because parents have the right to be a part of their child’s education. We also believe in supporting parents’ right to choose home schooling or independent schools for their children.
We passed legislation guaranteeing parents the right to volunteer in their children's schools.
We created School Planning Councils to give parents a greater role in school planning and decisions that affect their children’s education.
We’ve created the Parent Information Network providing parents with information on tutoring, literacy, graduation requirements, post secondary and career planning, health and safety, and supports for students with special needs and ESL students.
We established the first-ever parent appeal process to provide parents (and students) with an independent avenue to address decisions made by board of education employees.
We launched parent, student and school staff satisfaction surveys giving parents more say in their children’s education.
We created the Annual Parent Congress to give parents from public, independent and band schools the opportunity to speak directly with the Minister of Education about matters that affect their children’s education.
We provide $14 million annually in grants to help Parent Advisory Councils support their children’s education.
We eliminated provincial sales tax (PST) on school supplies purchased by Parent Advisory Councils allowing them to direct more funding to students.
We support the right of parents to choose the education that best meets the needs of their children by providing between 35 per cent and 50 per cent of funding to independent schools depending upon their designation.
School Playgrounds We’ve invested to build children safe places to play and be physically active because healthy children are better learners.
No other government in the history of this province has committed such a major investment in protecting student safety.
We’ve spent more than $400 million to date and have additional funding committed to seismic upgrades, leaving more than half a billion dollars to continue upgrading high-priority schools.
We’re investing $1.5 billion over 15 years to seismically upgrade all high priority schools.
We've advanced 116 high priority schools for seismic upgrading. To date:
40 - completed
31 - under construction
45 - approved to begin construction
Total – 116
We provide $5 million annually for districts to complete “non-structural” seismic work - attaching cabinets to walls, covering windows with protective film, securing lights, etc.
We built 75 new and replacement schools since 2001 and all meet the latest seismic building standards.
Student Testing & Achievement We believe in measuring student progress because parents have a right to know how their children are progressing in school. The Foundation Skills Assessment also allows government to measure progress and identify areas of the education system that may require more support.
The FSA is an annual assessment of how students in grades 4 & 7 are performing in reading, writing and math. In 2008, 89 per cent of students participated in the FSA.
The FSA is developed by B.C. teachers based on the curriculum; teachers don’t need to “teach to the test” to prepare students.
The FSA takes a maximum of five hours, spread over a minimum of three days, twice in each student’s first ten years of school.
The FSA looks at achievement results for each student including Aboriginal students, students with special needs, boys, girls and English as a Second Language students - providing an individual assessment for parents and educators about each child that simply cannot be achieved through random sampling.
FSA results are now available by the end of March so parents and educators can discuss the results with students during the current school year.
B.C.’s Representative for Children & Youth, the B.C. Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils and the First Nations Education Steering Committee have all declared their support of FSA testing.
2008 FSA tests show nearly two-thirds of grade 4 & 7 students are meeting or exceeding educational expectations and that high-school completion rates continue to be at one of the highest levels ever - 79 per cent, up three per cent since 2000/01.
Recent assessments put B.C. in the top five jurisdictions in the world for literacy.
The 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment found B.C. 15 year-olds are in the top-performing range worldwide in reading, science and math.
2007 advanced placement exams show B.C. students taking college-level courses while still in high school placed first in North America.
We’ve seen the Aboriginal school completion rate increase almost 12 per cent since 2001 – from 42 per cent to 47 per cent.
School districts in B.C. must now complete annual achievement contracts and district literacy plans.
We’ve created Superintendents of Achievement (currently three) who work closely with school districts to improve achievement outcomes.
We’ve invested more than $20 million to support summer learning so that students have choice and flexibility.
In partnership with the Virtual School Society, LearnNow BC (our online school) offers students new options for learning, including online courses and tutoring.
Since the launch of LearnNow BC, approximately 80,000 students have taken at least one online course.
Teachers We are working to build good working relationships with B.C.’s teachers that put students first because like parents, they are vital partners in ensuring the success of our children’s education.
In 2006, we reached the first-ever negotiated agreement with the BCTF since province-wide bargaining began in 1994.
The negotiated agreement includes a 12 per cent general wage increase to 2011 and teachers receive additional financial incentives to work in rural or remote areas.
We created a Learning Roundtable as a forum for education partners to discuss critical issues related to learning conditions such as class size and class composition.
We created an annual Teachers’ Congress to provide teachers from public, independent and band schools an opportunity to speak directly with the Minister about matters that affect education.
Established a teacher leadership certificate in partnership with post-secondary institutions, fulfilling a 2007 Throne commitment. Approximately 150 educators are working toward the first leadership certificates to be awarded in 2010.
We established a Teacher Discipline Registry, publicly reporting teachers disciplined for misconduct involving emotional, physical or sexual abuse.
We restored essential service designation for education under the Labour Relations Code, as promised.
New Universities We are creating universities in all regions so that students have access to a university education closer to home and communities have better access to skilled workers.
The new university designations allow thousands of students to get a university education closer to home, reducing costs for students and increasing the pool of skilled workers in those communities.
The new universities allow for more effective student transition between institutions nationally, and increase opportunities to expand international partnerships.
The new universities respond to recommendations in the Campus 2020 report which heard from thousands of students and communities across the province.
Post-secondary Capital Investment We are building new post-secondary facilities and spaces to enhance access to post secondary education and meet the demand for skilled workers.
Advance Education Minister Murray Coell talks about future funding for post-secondary students.
Between 2001 and 2008, we’ve undertaken the largest post-secondary expansion in the history of B.C. We’ve spent $1.6 billion on capital funding for over 800 projects on campuses throughout the province.
We invested $134 million building medical education centres at UBC Vancouver, UVic and UNBC, and a fourth medical school is under construction at UBC Okanagan.
We now have highest growth rate in medical seats in the country, and UBC now has the most seats of any medical school in Canada.
Invested $94.5 million to create the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, a unique collaboration between the B.C.’s four research-intensive universities (UVic, UBC, SFU, UNBC), the private sector and government to develop innovative climate change solutions.
Seven new campuses are completed or under construction.
We’ve invested more than $47 million for new and improved libraries at UBC, UNBC, UVic and Langara College
Examples of capital investments around the province:
UBC - $120 million renewal for old buildings; $17-million Beaty Biodiversity Research Centre; $17-million Museum of Anthropology renovation.
University of Fraser Valley - $22 million for renovations at Chilliwack campus.
UNBC - $29-million Teaching and Learning Centre, $12-million Northern Health Sciences Centre, $20.5-million Northern Sport Centre; $6 million in lab expansions.
UVIC - $25-million Social Sciences and Math Building; $5-million Centre for Learning; $12-million Medical Science Building.
The total post-secondary budget in BC increased more than 43 per cent since 2000 to over $2.25 billion. Within that, we’ve increased funding to institutions like universities more than 53 per cent - including an increase of $130 million in 2009/10 alone.
We’ve funded nearly 36,700 new public post-secondary spaces since 2001.
We’ve invested $1.6 billion in capital at our institutions between 2001 and 2008.
We’ve created seven new universities since 2001 and launched new medical schools in the Okanagan, Prince George, and Victoria.
We’ve invested more than $1.8 billion to help students overcome financial barriers to post-secondary education. We pay 100 per cent of interest on student loans for up to 10 years while they’re enrolled in full-time studies.
We provide debt management programs to help students including loan reduction, interest relief and loan forgiveness. We forgave or reduced $77 million in student loans for 24,000 students in 2008.
We’ve provided over $1.5 billion since June 2001 for research, more than any government in BC’s history, including:
$373 million under the BC Knowledge Development Fund
A $56.25 million Leading Edge Endowment Fund for 20 research leadership chairs and 9 regional innovation chairs
B.C. has a long, proud history of private institutions.
Some of our career training schools have been in existence for more than 100 years, such as Sprott Shaw Community College.
B.C. currently has more than 3,000 registered career training programs, provided through private career training institutions, serving over 60,000 students in 400 institutions.
PCTIA provides better protection for students by requiring that all institutions contribute to the student training completion fund, which provides tuition protection in the event of institution closure.
PCTIA provides enhanced transparency by requiring that all institutions have the status of their accreditation posted online.
We are committed to developing an Education Quality Assurance designation (EQA) that will provide students with an easily recognizable tool to determine what schools have met or exceeded established quality assurance standards.
Tuition We believe keeping tuition competitive with the rest of Canada and supporting low-income students ensures that all British Columbians, regardless of income, have the opportunity to attend post secondary. Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell talks about tuition.
Tuition fees at publicly-funded universities in B.C. were the fifth lowest in Canada in 2008/09.
Average tuition in B.C. for public institutions is lower than Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Undergraduate tuition fees at B.C.’s public universities were an average $4,700 in 2008/09.
We’ve limited tuition increases to the rate of inflation (two per cent for last three years), and that limit remains in place today.
Tuition currently accounts for about one-third of the cost of a student’s education - the other two-thirds are paid by the taxpayer.
We created the Children’s Education Fund, investing $1,000 for every child born in B.C. (on/after January 1, 2007) to support their ability to access post-secondary education. By the time the child is eligible to access the fund, it’s expected to be $2,200.
We’ve funded nearly 36,700 new public post-secondary spaces since 2001 and committed to 2,500 new graduate and 7,000 new apprenticeship spaces by 2010.
By lifting the NDP’s tuition freeze, we’ve been able to add seats so that students now have access to courses they need and graduate on time rather than languishing on waitlists.
We’ve created seven new universities since 2001 and built new campuses so students can access education closer to home.
Spending on student financial assistance in 2008/09 was over $257 million, totalling nearly $1.8 billion since 2001.
We pay 100 per cent of the interest on student loans for up to 10 years while they are enrolled in full-time studies.
We provide debt management programs that help students, including loan reduction, interest relief and loan forgiveness. We forgave and reduced more than $77 million in B.C. student loans for 24,000 students in 2008.
The 1990s student loan default rate was more than 20 per cent - today it’s 11 per cent.
Half of B.C. students graduate without debt and 90 per cent of those who borrowed are making their payments on time.
We set up the B.C. Student Loan Forgiveness Program in 2001, forgiving 100 per cent of a student's loan over three years for working in underserved rural and northern BC communities.
We’re putting $35 million into up-front grants, scholarships and bursaries in 2009/10.
Since 2007, we provide free adult basic education at public post-secondary institutions and on-line, and we’ve made it free at free at public high schools since September 2008.
