CAQ government moves to offer pre-K classes across province

Quebec Premier Franois Legault is pledging to make pre-kindergarten available to four-year-olds across the province within the next five years, despite concerns from school boards about the strainthe added classes would put on the education system.

Legault said the proposed changes would bring Quebec in line with Ontario and New Yorkand "most of the places in Europe," whereschool begins at age four. He acknowledged that the change was controversial but said it was the right thing to do.

"For me, it makes sense that if we bring children in school earlier, especially the oneshaving learning difficulties, that it will help them," Legault said Thursday in announcing the commitment in a Quebec City classroom, alongsideEducation MinisterJean-FranoisRoberge.

"We have to think about what's the best for our children."

The Coalition Avenir Qubectabled legislation earlier in the day to amend the province's Education Act to ensure "all children having reached fouryears of age will be entitled to preschool education services," regardless of the "economic area that theylive in."

As it stands, pre-Kclassesare available onlyin schools in areas that qualify as low-income.

If passed, Bill 5would also require the service to be offered by "all school boards according to the general framework provided for in the Education Act."

Private schools willalso be able to offer the pre-K service under the proposed changes.

The CAQ isn't listening, opponents say

The pledge to expand pre-K was a key plank in the CAQ'selectioncampaign, but school boards have argued universal pre-kindergartenwould be costly and difficult to implement.

The CommissionScolairedeMontral(CSDM), the province's largest school board, is among those that have expressed concern about the proposal.

We are creating a parallelsystem that in the end won't necessarily be helpful for children.- Marie-ClaudeLemieux,Associationqubcoisedes centres de la petiteenfance

The CSDM, which is already facing a staffing shortage, would require 475 additional classrooms the equivalent of 23 new schools to introduce pre-K across its network, according to Radio-Canada.

Marwah Rizqy, the Liberal Party's education critic, said Thursday the CAQ'sproposal doesn't address a pressing need.

The government "is more intent on fulfilling their promise than listening to their network," she said.

Not compulsory

Legault has stressedthatpre-K won't be compulsory and that the public daycare system will continue to play an importantrole in the province.

He pegged the plan'sannual price tag at between $400 million and $700 million a year. Legault said further details would be included in the CAQ'sbudget, expected in early spring.

Marie-Claude Lemieux, director of public affairs at the Association qubcoisedes centres de la petite enfance, which represents the publicly subsidized daycare network, said the association isconcerned children, particularly those with special needs, won't always get the attention they need in pre-K.

Currently, the educator-to-child ratio is one-to-10for four-year-olds in a CPE, and one-to-17in a kindergarten classroom.

"We are creating a parallelsystem that in the end won't necessarily be helpful for children," she said.