DAN Davies, MLA for Peace River-North and Opposition Critic for Education, pressed Education Minister Rob Fleming during Wednesday’s Question Period on why the NDP will not reveal its 2020/21 K-12 education plan.

“Parents and students have been patient as schools dealt with COVID-19 and managed the uncertainty of this past school year but now they are getting anxious and expect the government to have a plan in place for the fall,” said Davies. “Parents still don’t have any info about what the coming school year will look like and that’s just not good enough.”

Both Quebec and Saskatchewan have already announced plans to reopen classrooms in September based on guidelines put out in May and June. Ontario and Alberta have both announced they will have reopening plans for their school plans in place by August 4. Under pressure from Davies during Question Period, Fleming promised a plan “in three weeks.”

“Although we would have loved to see an education plan in place back in June as we saw in other provinces, this new time frame would at least provide enough lead time to safely prepare classrooms and for parents to make plans to arrange child care,” added Davies. “We look forward to following up with the minister in three weeks time to ensure he produces a viable and transparent education plan that will give parents the flexibility to prepare for the upcoming school year as safely as possible.”

The BC Liberals say they have repeatedly called on the government to have a plan in place no later than B.C. Day so students, parents, and teachers have enough time to plan for the 2020/21 school year and plan to hold the Education Minister to this commitment.