Public education system among best in the world despite chronic underfunding by B.C. government
Vancouver Sun
By Catherine Evans Director, B.C. Society for Public Education
April 26, 2010

Before the recent controversy involving B.C.'s minister of education and the Vancouver school board, the BC Society for Public Education commissioned an Angus Reid poll asking British Columbians about government's handling of public schools.

Of the 800 people surveyed, 81 per cent said the provincial government isn't doing enough to protect public education. And 79 per cent said Victoria should increase funding to public schools. Why such strong support for public schools? Our public schools are a resource our communities hold dear, and internationally our education system is widely admired.

Canadian public school students are at, or near, the top in international competitions, our high school diplomas are recognized worldwide and we have succeeded, better than most countries, in keeping the gap between the top and bottom students relatively narrow.

This is not an accident. Our system was built on a model in which a family's wealth didn't determine whether its child had access to a high-quality education.

So why, year after year, does our provincial government undermine our public schools by underfunding the costs it itself is adding? And why does it continue to increase support for private schools?

A possible reason is that it is listening to people who see education as something to sell. In the United States, education is a major industry in which private interests make millions on everything from school franchising to testing.

This creates a two-tiered system that entrenches inequality and punishes poor communities.

Underfunding our public schools is creating an American-style system here.

The poll results indicate this is not what the great majority of British Columbians want.

Private schools in B.C. receive between 35 and 50 per cent of the per-pupil grant given to public schools. Sixty-five per cent of the poll respondents said they disagree with continued public funding of private schools.

Rather than spend money supporting private schools, the Campbell government would do better to invest in the public system and restore confidence that our public schools can indeed provide a quality education for all children, wherever they live in B.C.