Adult learners may soon be kept out of School District 73 halls because of a lack of provincial funding.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
January 13, 2015 - 9:54 AM
PROVINCIAL FUNDING CUT
KAMLOOPS - Adults looking to upgrade their schooling through the Kamloops Thompson School District may soon need to look at other options.
In December the Ministry of Education announced it will not be funding graduated adults enrolling in ministry courses as of May 1. They will still fund the 26 foundation courses for adults requiring significant skills upgrading in math or literacy. Adults not yet graduated from high school will still be funded as well.
Under the former 2008 Education Guarantee policy any graduated adults were allowed to take tuition-free upgrading courses. In School District 73 about 342 courses were taken by adults through Street School, Kamloops Open Online Learning, or @KOOL, and the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre. This brought in annual revenues of about $189,000.
Going forward adults looking to upgrade will either have to go to post-secondary schools where they will have to pay user fees or can apply for tuition grants.
The district also has the option of creating a new fee structure for these courses as well. The continuing education programs are under review and recommendations about whether to continue these courses and how much they'll cost will be made in the spring.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015