Education
Doug Ford’s plans for education will lead to overcrowded classrooms, 10,000 fewer teaching positions and leave skills out of reach for future generations.
Doug Ford’s right-wing plans for education will cut over $1 billion from primary, secondary, and post-secondary education.
They already halted construction on three satellite college campuses in Milton, Brampton, and Markham. These campuses would have given more than 8,000 new student spaces in under-resourced communities, giving new students the opportunity to learn new skills at a time when they’re needed most.
They cut a further $670 million from the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), funding that disproportionately impacts students from low-income families.
They also introduced the Student Choice Initiative – a direct attack on students’ unions and would allow opting-out of union fees leaving students without a voice.
Their cuts of more than $25 million from school board funding for student support programs that help Indigenous and racialized students.
They also plan to increase average class sizes by nearly 30%. This will mean for Grades 4-12 class sizes will increase from an average of 21 students to 28 in the coming years with some under-resourced schools in the mid- to high-30’s.
Most notably, according to a Toronto Star report, as a direct result of cuts to education funds, the province will lose as many as 10,000 teaching positions.
On Doug Ford’s watch, our children and grandchildren will be left in the dark. A decent and comprehensive education is necessary for a healthy society and a vibrant democracy.