Mandarin courses would be a good fit for British Columbia schools, but introducing such programs is up to local boards, provincial Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid said on Tuesday.
“I certainly think that second languages are valuable and providing access to Mandarin immersion really makes sense when you consider our province and the close ties we have with Asia,” Ms. MacDiarmid said. “We’re certainly supportive of these languages being provided. But currently these decisions are made at a local level – this is something that boards have the authority to do.”
Ms. MacDiarmid spoke to reporters on a conference call to discuss the coming school year.
The Vancouver School Board is planning a Mandarin program for the fall of 2011, and two other districts, Coquitlam and Burnaby, are readying or have launched Mandarin programs.
Coquitlam will introduce a Mandarin bilingual program this fall that will be offered through two full-day kindergarten classes and two Grade 1 classes that will enroll 83 students.
Demand for the program – which was introduced after parents lobbied for the option – far outstripped available spaces, so the district assigned spaces through a lottery, said Coquitlam district spokeswoman Cheryl Quinton.
School districts would have to weigh demand for new language or other programs against available budgets.
This year also marks the introduction of full-day kindergarten for about 21,000 students throughout the province. The $280-million full-day kindergarten program, rolling out over three years, is being introduced as many school boards are wrestling with budget deficits, but the investment will pay off, Ms. MacDiarmid said.
“We know this program is going to make a difference,” she said. “There is a large body of research that has shown around the world that play-based, high-quality learning for kindergarten students makes a difference for them. Higher graduation rates, they’re more likely to go on to and graduate from postsecondary school.”
Other items on the province’s education agenda include “play-based learning” for three- and four-year-olds and “personalized learning,” the minister said.
In response to questions about overcrowding in Surrey classrooms, Ms. MacDiarmid said the number of students who attend schools in portable classrooms has been significantly reduced over the past decade.
The province is developing a capital plan that will consider population growth or declines throughout B.C., as well as factors such as the age and safety profiles of schools, she added.
In August, B.C. Auditor-General John Doyle found that school districts have about $1-billion sitting in low-interest accounts, which is costly for the province because it could be earning higher interest on that money if it were invested..
Ms. MacDiarmid said the province is already making changes to reduce the amount of sidelined funds, including changing the way that funds are allocated to districts to a “just in time” model that prevents money from languishing in low-interest accounts.
