Open Letter to Ontario Teachers in Publicly Funded Education regarding the status of the Professional Learning Program, December 19, 2003
Dear Friends, I am writing to you today on behalf of the new Ontario government to make plain to you that our government plans to introduce legislation that would repeal the Professional Learning Program (PLP). We will be introducing this legislation in the Spring Session of the provincial Parliament, and we have already written to the College of Teachers to advise them of our intentions. If approved by the Legislature, the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 would be amended to remove the requirement for teachers to complete 14 courses every five years to maintain their certificate of qualification and registration, and their membership in the College. As you may know, our short inaugural session was preoccupied, of necessity, with addressing the fiscal deficit left by the outgoing government, including the cancellation of the private school tax credit and the seniors’ education property tax deduction. These measures helped us to provide $112 million of in-year funding two weeks ago to support students who are struggling the most, as recommended in the Rozanski Report. As you may also know, the McGuinty government stated in the Throne Speech “your government’s first and most important priority will always be excellence in public education. Its goal is to make Ontario’s public education the world’s best education.” The key to accomplishing this objective is a new era of cooperation in education - a future to which this divisive PLP program should not belong. I look forward to working with you to support teacher excellence and other measures needed for student achievement across the province. I also want to take this opportunity to thank you for your contribution and commitment to high-quality publicly funded education, and to wish you and your family all the very best for the holiday season. Yours sincerely, Gerard Kennedy, MPP
|
|||
|
|
|||
