The evocation of a private school project that France wants to open in the Maritime provinces has been welcomed by French -speaking parents in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Some have reservations about the relevance of such an establishment, which France would consider establishing in Moncton or Fredericton in New Brunswick, or even in Halifax in Nova Scotia.
What is French high school?
It will be a high school, the equivalent of a high school in the Canadian education system, where young people will be taught the French school curriculum.
Through the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE), France has established 552 of its own schools in 138 countries.
According to Fanny Ratisseau, an elected councilor in the Assembly of French Nationals Abroad, 60% of the approximately 380,000 students enrolled there are not of French nationality.
In Canada, there are already nine of these French schools, but none in eastern Quebec. Others are in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
Typically, for high school equivalent students, tuition fees range from $ 5,000 to $ 34,000 per year.
A French delegation from the Agency for French Teaching Abroad will travel to Atlantic Canada from May 8 to 12 to advance this project.
In preparation for this visit, the Alliance française d’Halifax, a French cultural center in the capital of Nova Scotia, is inviting people to discuss the idea at its venue on Saturday afternoon.
A few hours before this meeting, parents were far from convinced of the relevance of this French school.
This is the case of Morgane Sicre, a resident of the Halifax region. I strongly believe in equality and fairness of opportunity for children, so I don’t see the pointhe says.
” We will never reinvent hot water. There is already a public service on offer. “
A threat to the Francophone community?
Some parents are concerned that the opening of such a school by a foreign government would jeopardize an established French-language school system in Nova Scotia, where the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP) operates 22 schools serving more than 6,000 K-12 students.
Sophie Hubert believes that schools in CSAP will lose students. We cannot afford, at Maritime, to remove some of these studentshe says.
” If you offer French high school, children attend CSAP aalis na. “
Estele Jehan Boulon does not share this concern. I don’t think it’s competition he says. It’s just another option, like people here who are anglophone and put their child in a public school or their child in a private school.
In New Brunswick, the project immediately raises questions.
Is this really an addition to what we already have?astonishment of Michel Côté, director general of the Regional Association of the Francophone Community of Saint-Jean.
Will the Province of New Brunswick certify them when they graduate?he asked, speaking about the possible graduates of this type of school.
Fanny Ratisseau, of the Assembly of French Citizens Abroad, said a high school that follows the French curriculum in the Maritimes will serve increase and diversify the educational offer in French in a minority area.
Michel Côté noticed that the idea might be attractive for French immigrants, but believed that need of this high school for the French -speaking community in general is a big question mark.
We already have several French-language schools in those regions that are doing great workhe mentioned.
According to a report by Adrien Blanc
Source: Radio-Canada
