The BC Ministry of Education hosted an open house on rural education at the Van Bien Training and Development Centre in Prince George on Wednesday night.
Parliamentary Secretary Linda Larson was in attendance, as well as School District 57 Board Chair Tim Bennett, and parents of students.
Bennett says the discussion was centred around the actual definition of ‘rural.’
“It’s going to be interesting to see what the ministry comes back with after the eight community consultations, but also the numerous consultations that have been conducted online.”
According to Bennett, Prince George was the second stop on an eight-community tour for the Ministry as they continue to obtain public feedback on how to improve the rural education strategy.
He adds parents voiced strong opinions on how valuable learning is for their children.
“We heard loud and clear that it’s important that students in rural schools have the opportunity for a fair public education system, and ensuring that we’re giving them the course offerings needed to give them the best shot at a scholarship.”
Bennett admits however finding and recruiting instructors to teach certain courses in rural areas has been a challenge for the longest time.
Once the government receives recommendations from the Ministry, he hopes they’ll be easy to implement as soon as possible with the provincial election drawing closer.
“It’s going to be the rule of our board and boards across the province to make sure the new government knows how important this consultation and these recommendations are for students living across British Columbia.”
He believes all students, regardless of where they live or what kind of government is in control, should have the right to a fair and proper education.