How often do we ask, and listen to, what students envision for their education?

Students are at the centre of our public education system. Across the province, they have been working with energy, passion, and clear concern for the state of their education, to make their voices heard.

The Students’ Vision for Education

Last week, the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association (OSTA-AECO) released The Students’ Vision for Education, with recommendations to transform every facet of our education system. OSTA-AECO President, Amal Qayum, and Policy Coordinator, Amin Ali, unveiled the document at Queen’s Park. The vision document touches on the breadth of student experience in our public schools, and is informed by student input from over 20,000 survey responses from school boards across the province.

The recommendations include a call to the provincial government to review streaming, the establishment of a Student Transportation Standard, and restructuring the Careers curriculum to better prepare students for life post-graduation.  One of their strongest recommendations is a call for a Royal Commission on Education Finance Reform. As mentioned in the vision document, the Royal Commission on Learning, from 1993-1995, resulted in initiatives such as the Student Trustees, EQAO, and mandatory Multi-Year Strategic Plans for school boards.

The 35 recommendations are grouped within six pillars:

• Enhancing equity
• Funding formula reform
• Strengthening rural and Northern schools
• Supporting student well-being
• System modernization for 21^st Century learning
• School board governance

Student survey on eLearning

The student group has also opened an online consultation on eLearning to gather feedback from students on the proposed requirement that all students take four eLearning credits in secondary school.

About OSTA-AECO

OSTA-AECO is the largest student stakeholder group in Ontario, representing approximately 2 million students. The organisation is comprised of student trustees from public and Catholic school boards.