More B.C. parents than ever are sending their kids to independent schools, a Fraser Institute report found.
The think tank’s data shows that independent school enrolment numbers have gone up by 35 per cent over the past 12 years, while public school enrolment has decreased by 12 per cent in the same time period. In the 2014/2015 school year, one in every eight B.C. kids went to an independent school.
B.C. is one of four provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec, who partially fund independent schools. Those five provinces have the highest rates of independent school enrolment in Canada.
RELATED: BCTF dispute heading to top court
The union representing public school teacher, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, has been locked in a legal battle over class size and composition with the B.C. government since 2002. Then-education minister Mike Bernier said the province was committed to working with the union to hire more teachers.
RELATED: 1,100 teachers to be hired in interim staffing deal
The fight, which cost the province $2.6 million in legal fees, ended this winter when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the BCTF’s favour.
RELATED: B.C.’s legal battle with teachers’ unions cost $2.6M
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