Quebec is putting the brakes on the implementation of the Culture and Quebec Citizenship course: the new program which will replace Ethics and Religious Culture will be taught in all schools a year later than planned, from the start of the 2024 school year.
• Read also: A postponement of the Quebec Culture and Citizenship course requested
The implementation of the new course will be done “gradually” in the fall of 2023, we can read in the budget documents presented on Tuesday. According to our information, schools will then be able to teach the new content on a “voluntary” basis.
It will be necessary to wait until the start of the 2024 school year before all students have access to it.
In recent months, teacher unions have repeatedly called for the postponement of the implementation of this new course for the start of the school year.
The final version of the program is not yet available, and the teaching staff is asking for more training in order to be able to render the complex and sometimes delicate content, which notably includes notions of sex education.
Publishers will also not be able to print the new textbooks for the fall, it was reported to the Journal.
Pilot projects are currently underway in a handful of schools. At the elementary level, the new course will make it possible to address issues surrounding digital education, while at the secondary level, it will allow secondary school students to familiarize themselves with the history of Quebec and its institutions, in particular through a visit to the National Assembly, we can read in the budget documents.
