BC Gov News

For more than a decade, the B.C. government has been making schools safer from earthquakes to protect students and staff. So far, we've spent over $2 billion.

British Columbia has one of the best education systems in the world - our students consistently rank near the top in international assessments.

This week should be the first week of school. For students and their teachers, it's supposed to be a time of excitement and anticipation.

The British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) has initiated a full withdrawal of non-essential services, which is expected to impact the last nine days of school and possibly summer programs.

In B.C., a million job openings are expected by 2022. Fully 43% of those jobs will require skilled workers, and some areas of the province are already experiencing shortages of skilled workers.

In 1998, the British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) failed to convince school trustees that entrenching rigid ratios and formulas in the provincial contract was the right thing to do for students or the education system.

In British Columbia, we are seeing increasing success for both on- and off-reserve Aboriginal students.

Aiden is seven years old, and at the beginning of the school year last fall his family was worried about his reading. Now, because of his teacher's expertise in literacy, Aiden is excited to read - especially books about Star Wars.

British Columbia has a great education system. We have skilled teachers and high levels of student achievement. But as good as it is - education must keep pace with a rapidly changing world.