VANCOUVER B.C. - Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party, released the party’s Strategy for Lifelong learning today in Vancouver. The strategy includes early childhood education, child care, public education, postsecondary education and adult learning.
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Up to 25 hours free early childhood education per week for three and four year olds;
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Free daycare for working parents with children under three;
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Up to $500 per month for families with children under three and a stay at home parent.
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Increase funding for public schools, beginning in 2017/18 at $220 million and rising to $1.46 billion in 2020/21, to allow schools and school districts to invest in every child and prepare students for the emerging economy, and to invest in innovation and technology.
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$10 million per year for free adult basic education.
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Invest $140 million over three years to train teachers to deliver the new curriculum.
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Work with indigenous leaders, teachers, universities and colleges to develop policies and strategies to attract highly qualified teachers to the profession, and support recruitment and retention. Special attention will be paid to increasing the number of Indigenous teachers.
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Implement needs-based grants for post-secondary students.
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Offer tax forgiveness of up to $2,000 a year for up to five years to assist qualifying graduates to repay outstanding debt incurred for tuition fees.
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Set up a task force on postsecondary education funding with a mandate to identify ways to make post-secondary education more relevant, accessible and affordable. The task force will present its report by July 2018.