EQAO results expose reality: Government funds insiders, not students

QUEEN’S PARK – Following the release of the less than favorable EQAO results after the Minister of Education withheld them for months, NDP Shadow Minister for Education Chandra Pasma (Ottawa West – Nepean) released the following statement:

“The Minister of Education kept the EQAO results scores hidden for a reason: they expose the consequences of years of Conservative funding cuts for our students. When half of Grade 6 and two in five Grade 9 students fail to meet the provincial standard in math, the problem isn’t the students or educators; it’s Doug Ford’s underfunding. It’s the failure of this minister to do what is really needed to set our kids up for success.

“Instead of properly funding our schools, this government’s answer is to hand control of school boards to hand-picked Conservative insiders with little to no professional experience in education. And now, the Minister is directing more funding away from our schools to handpicked insiders to receive lucrative jobs. Appointing political operatives who have never taught, supported students with complex needs, or run a classroom will not improve learning outcomes.

“Parents have been loud and clear about what our kids need: smaller class sizes and more caring, qualified teachers, not unqualified Conservatives with six-figure salaries. If this government truly cared about student success, they would fund our schools.”