Excessive centralization of powers? Bernard Trinville’s reformation is worrying

Bill 23, which aims to reform governance in Quebec’s education system, was adopted last Thursday, granting new powers to the education minister.

• Read more: Common Front against the Legault government’s school reform

Bernard Trinville will now have the power to appoint the director-general of school service centers in the province, as well as overturn decisions he disagrees with.

The bill aims to reform the administration in the education system of the province.

The Government therefore wishes to:

Improve access to networked data: Students’ school records can be made available online, avoiding the need to transfer them from one school to another.

– Create a National Institute of Education.

-The Council of Higher Education should be replaced. The latter work will now be restricted at the college and university level.

-Imposing continuous training for teachers.

“This bill centralizes the powers – some would say too much. We are roughly removing all safeguards that prevent the minister from taking wrong decisions,” analyzed Professor Simon Viviers of Laval University in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.

“We are eliminating diversity in the entire ecosystem of the education system,” he adds.

The Education Minister, for his part, defended the merits of his reform.

“Thanks to this new law, we are improving the effectiveness of the network. I believe that better coordination between government guidance and the sector, improved access to data and the creation of an institution of excellence in national education will be beneficial to the success of our youth,” he said in a press release.