Kate Webb
The Province: Sunday, September 09, 2007
High school used to be a one-shot deal -- but now students who want to return to finish their diplomas or upgrade their courses will be able to do it for free.
B.C.'s Ministries of Education and Advanced Education said Friday they will inject a combined $17.5 million in new funding for adult basic-education courses at 18 B.C. post-secondary institutions, including Vancouver Community College, where the initiative was unveiled.
The decision is expected to affect about 28,000 students who enroll in the adult courses each year, each of which can cost anywhere from $50 to $516.
Minister of Education Shirley Bond said it was an emotional moment as she announced the upcoming launch of a $200,000 literacy website -- readnowbc.ca -- given her experience talking with illiterate adults across the province.
"In British Columbia today, there are one million British Columbians who would have trouble being able to order what they would like for breakfast because they can't read the menu," she said. "Our goal is to be the most literate jurisdiction on the continent within the next 10 years."
The ReadNow BC website allows users with reading difficulties to learn about literacy programs through auditory messages.
"We talk about literacy all the time, and then we put that information into print," said Bond. "We have to think differently about how we reach out to those people."
The province's free courses will be made available in three stages. As of Friday, all students can now take free online courses through the province's virtual school, LearnNow BC, at learnnowbc.ca.
By January, students will also have access to tuition-free adult basic eduction at 18 public post-secondary institutions.
Then, next September, the program will expand to school districts.
The move was hailed by both the Canadian Federation of Students and the First Nations Education Steering Committee as a victory for the 71 per cent of adult basic-ed students who live below the poverty line.
"We're very pleased. Students have been pushing for this for a number of years now," said Shamus Reid, B.C. chairperson of the student federation. "It's going to save in the millions collectively, [since] we've seen tuition fees as high as $500 for a Dogwood [adult high-school diploma] course."
kwebb@png.canwest.com
