The application deadline has passed, but CEGEPs say work is just getting started
As they start to sort through applications for the fall 2024 semester, the heads of English-language CEGEPs say that new language laws are causing chaos and confusion.
“It’s very, very frustrating,” said Diane Gauvin, who runs the largest CEGEP in Quebec, Dawson College.
Gauvin says that her staff has been frantically talking to people at the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of the French Language to find out what the CEGEP needs to do to follow the new law.
The law, which used to be called Bill 96, makes CEGEPs follow new language rules. It limits how many students English CEGEPs can take and tells them to give priority to students who could have gone to English elementary and high schools.
The law, which is called An Act respecting French as the official and common language of Quebec, also requires new French courses and a French exit exam for students who aren’t eligible for English. CEGEP administrators say they are racing to create and start the new classes.
Edward Berryman, who is in charge of CEGEP Champlain St. Lawrence, said that there are still a lot of questions about the new law.
In an interview, he said, “There are a lot of different constants that we need to be very aware of before we start admitting.”
CEGEPs don’t yet know what could happen if they have more students than the government allows. This is one of the unknowns.
Berryman says he doesn’t want to slow down admissions, but he may have to if the government doesn’t tell him how many full-time and part-time students his CEGEP can take.
Gauvin said that the law is also confusing people who want to go to CEGEP.
She said, “Francophone students think they can’t apply to English CEGEPs, but that’s not true.” They can still apply, but students who went to English elementary and high schools or were allowed to study there will be given more attention.
Parents are also worried that the new limits on student numbers will lead to greater competition for space.
The president of the English Parents’ Committee Association, Katherine Korakakis, said, “There are so many worries and questions about, ‘Will my kid get in?'”
She said that parents still worry a lot about questions that haven’t been answered.
She said, “It’s terrible to be in a situation where you don’t have enough information to make an informed decision that affects someone’s family and future.”
In a statement, the Ministry of Higher Education said that some questions about the law, like how English CEGEPs will be punished if they take more students than they are allowed to, are up to the French Language Ministry and haven’t been decided yet.
“Since June 2022, the ministry has been working closely with the leaders of English- and French-language colleges and organizations that represent private CEGEPs and colleges to figure out how to put the law into practice,” a spokesperson said in a statement.