Manitoba announces second attempt to overhaul the education system

The Manitoba Government outlined broad strokes Wednesday of its second attempt to overhaul the education system.

The Manitoba Government outlined broad strokes Wednesday of its second attempt to overhaul the education system.

Upon taking office late last year, Premier Heather Stefanson scrapped Bill 64, the original plan, following strong opposition to the proposed reforms. The measure that drew the most criticism was a plan to eliminate elected school boards.

"We heard loud and clear from Manitobans that they didn't want us to change the governance structure within the Manitoba K-12 system," Manitoba's Education Minister Wayne Ewasko said Wednesday.

Instead the province says its new Manitoba Education Action Plan, which was released on Wednesday, will not even consolidate school boards.

The report says the five-year action plan will focus on four pillars: high-quality learning, student engagement and well-being, teaching and leadership, and responsive systems. 

“In alignment with current research and other Canadian jurisdictions, Manitoba will shift to a global competency approach with literacy and numeracy at its core. It will support relevant, high-quality learning for all,” states the report.

A new funding model is proposed but the province isn’t yet saying what it will look like as work by a review team is underway. Right now the province funds the system directly in conjunction with school boards which raise money through taxation. The promise is to make the new model more fair and equitable.