OSSTF District 11- Thames Valley
Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation

680 Industrial Road, London, Ontario, N5V 1V1
Phone: (519) 659-6588; Fax: (519) 659-2421; Email: osstf11@execulink.com

District 11 Office

Adult Education

Issue Fact Sheet: Adult Continuing Education

The OSSTF Position on Adult Education:

"Until 1996 all secondary students in Ontario were treated equally, regardless of age. All students received the same funding for attending school. Then the government changed its funding formula.

OSSTF supports restoring funding for adult and alternative education programs to their 1996 levels. Restoring funding to these programs saves taxpayers money in the long run. A 1996 survey of adult day students found that 48% were trying to get off government assistance and that 83% of graduates successfully found jobs or went on to further education.

The current grant for a student under the age of 21 is $7096. At age 21, the grant falls to $2294. What a difference a day makes!

A system of adult day schools is economically efficient. Fully 65% of adult students achieved their graduation diploma within one year when funding was equal for all learners.

The OSSTF Student Success Plan's approach to adult education programs will provide Ontario with a more productive and skilled workforce." (Source: OSSTF Student Success Plan Fact Sheet on Adult Education)

"What's next for adult day schools?" (article from the February 3, 2004 Update)

Continuing Education Teachers in District 11

Continuing Education Teachers are part of the Teachers' Bargaining Unit. These teachers teach secondary school credits to adult students at G.A Wheable Centre for Adult Education (London), St.Thomas Adult Learning Centre (St. Thomas), Blossom Park Education Centre (Woodstock), and the Tillson Avenue Education Centre (Tillsonburg).

Despite the fact that these members teach the same courses as secondary school teachers, the critical lack of funding support for Adult Education by the previous tory provincial government, and the strict application of the funding formula, has meant that these teachers are hourly paid employees who are hired term by term. The District and Provincial OSSTF is working towards improving the salary and working conditions of these Members who are so poorly treated by tory government policy on Adult Education.

Statements about Adult Education in the Ontario Legislature

	On May 16, 1996, during debate on Bill 34 (which changed how adult students were treated and funded), Progressive Conservative MPP and Minister of Education and Training John Snobelen said: "I suspect that if the Leader of the Opposition were to check with people across this province -- I have done that over the last 10 months -- and ask them if they think the province's responsibility to adults is identical to its responsibility to adolescents, the Leader of the Opposition might find that people can discern a difference between those two groups. Perhaps she has some difficulty with that, but I can assure you most people in the province don't. They understand the fact that we can deliver education and schooling to adults in a much different format than we do for adolescents and that the responsibility of the province is much different with adults than it is with adolescents."
	On September 29, 1997, during debate on Bill 160 (which, among many other things, centralized control of public education and its funding in Queen's Park rather than local school boards), Bud Wildman, an NDP MPP said: "Then he eliminated the funding for adult education day programs in the school system and said they could only fund adult education through the continuing education program. This is a denial of the government's and the Conservative party's own program, which is a hand up, not a handout. In other words, they want people to improve themselves, to be able to provide for themselves and their families and contribute to society, but they are at the very same time making it more difficult for adults to go back to school and gain their diplomas so they can indeed do that. Why did they do this? They did it because the minister wants to get the money out, to provide the money to the Treasurer. That's his main raison d'être, his reason for creating the crisis, his reason for the changes he has made." "But this government sees the education system as a money cow to help finance its tax cut. That's what it's about."
	On November 21, 2002, Joseph Cordiano , Liberal MPP for York South--Weston, said: "But you know what's interesting is that this government has cut the amount of funding to enrolment in adult day schools. In 1994-95, it used to be that 102,000 adult day spaces were operational. Guess what the number was in the year 1999-2000? It went down to 39,000 spaces right across the province. That's a reduction of 61% -- enormous. We're not talking about small amounts here. We're talking about a huge cut in adult learning, and we cannot afford to have that in Ontario. Our economy depends on people having the highest level of skill and the greatest amount of education. If we're going to compete with other jurisdictions, we need these people to be better educated. What has happened in Toronto? In 1994-96, total enrolment was 16,000 in the city of Toronto. Enrolment has decreased as of 1999 to 3,300 spaces -- a huge drop again. What's interesting as well is that the funding level has decreased. Pre-1996 per adult funding was $7,000; currently it is $2,200. Obviously school boards are having a hard time creating these spaces and so they've cut back. They're being forced to cut back as a result of the per-student funding. It's been reduced drastically. This is directly as a result of this government's failure to fund grants properly. There's no other way to put it, because it's very clear that this government does not believe in adult education and ongoing education. It doesn't believe it's an integral part of a knowledge-based economy. It doesn't believe these students should have an opportunity to complete their education as adults."

What OSSTF Members can do:

	Become or continue to be politically active. Write letters to the Education Minister, to your MPP, to the Editor, to your Trustee to explain the harm tory under-funding is doing to adult students as well as to public education as a whole.
	Stay informed about educational issues.
	Be a staunch supporter of your fellow OSSTF members and defender of public education.

Let us not take thought for our separate interests, but let us help one another.
(OSSTF Motto)

Revised Thursday, June 29, 2006

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OSSTF District 11- Thames Valley Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation

680 Industrial Road, London, Ontario, N5V 1V1 Phone: (519) 659-6588; Fax: (519) 659-2421; Email: osstf11@execulink.com