To the Editor,
Re: Program protest, Nov. 5.
It is quite inspiring to see young people taking a public stand about their education.
The move of the well-functioning French program offered at Nanaimo District Secondary School since 1988, which could happen as early as September 2016, will directly and immediately affect over 400 Francophone and French immersion students, specifically, 330 Grade 8-11 students and 135 Grade 7 students, or 465 students.
The much longer commutes that students will face as a result of the move as well as the uncertainties triggered by the uprooting of the French program will cause many students and parents to reconsider staying in the program. Many will decide to leave the French program, which will then decrease the federal funds (over $200,000 per year) awarded to the Nanaimo school district for French education.
As the protesting NDSS students and the parents and presenters who have participated in the public consultation have made clear, moving the program will result in considerable personal, cultural and financial costs for students, parents and the school district. Last but not least, it is still unclear what the affected students and their parents are to gain from such a move.
Jocelyne PraudNanaimo