Ontario 9th Grade Students Will Not Have to Choose Between Applied and Academic Broadcast by September 2022 | The Canadian News

Ontario will end 9th grade academic and applied broadcast across all courses by September 2022.

The province announced the decision in early July, but released more details on Thursday.

The practice, which asks students to choose between pursuing academic or applied courses upon entering the secondary education system, has come under fire at home and abroad for decades.

Critics argue that broadcasting disproportionately funnels black students and other racialized students into applied currents, limiting their future prospects and reinforcing inequality in the province’s educational system.

“Our government has continuously taken steps to remove barriers for all students, including racialized children in Ontario,” Education Minister Stephen Lecce said in a statement Thursday.

“We will continue to take steps to elevate all students, with an ambitious plan to support better pathways to skilled trades, post-secondary and high-paying jobs.”

Ontario began the broadcast phase-out process in September 2021 with a new 9th grade math course. On Thursday, provincial officials confirmed that the process will now include the dissemination of science, geography, English and French as a second language courses.

English, Geography, and French as a Second Language will now offer the academic stream only for 9th grade students.

For the non-broadcast science course, the class will focus on biology, chemistry, physics, earth, and space and will also help students develop and refine their STEM skills.

The broadcast is still in effect for grade 10, however, the province said it will release details for the academic and applied math courses for the 2022-2023 school year that will help students with the transition from non-broadcast courses to broadcast courses. . .

Prime Minister Doug Ford previously said that eliminating broadcasting would bring Ontario’s education in line with the rest of the country and end a discriminatory practice.

“We are the only province in the entire country that does this, and it really isn’t fair to certain groups of students,” Ford said at a news conference.

The province recently announced another revision of the curriculum that will include students learning First Nations, Metis and Inuit education, as well as the history of the residential school system.

–With files from The Canadian Press

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