St. John’s, NL (July 25, 2023) – Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Tony Wakeham (MHA, Stephenville – Port au Port) has unveiled his Education Plan with a vision to provide every student a clear path to personal success, starting from early childcare all the way through K-to-12 and post-secondary education.
“The greatest challenge in the K-to-12 system right now is that teachers have to struggle to get the government’s attention and the support they require. As a direct consequence of the government’s failure to listen to struggling teachers, many students are not getting the help they need, and many teachers are frustrated to the point of wondering if they can continue,” said Wakeham.
“At the childcare level, we now have affordable childcare for those who can get it, but too few Early Childhood Educators to give most parents access, and no solid plan to address the bottleneck,” he said.
“At the post-secondary level, the greatest challenge is affordability now that the government has allowed the cost of admission to skyrocket. Young people are worrying they may have to abandon their post-secondary dreams or leave the province after they graduate.”
Wakeham said, “The future of our province hinges on the investments we make right now in giving our children and youth lifelong access to a world-class education that will enable them to compete successfully with the best and give our province the best-educated workforce it can possibly have.”
“Recruitment and retention of education professionals, support in the classroom, affordability for students, and high-quality of education resources are things we need to be focusing on. The path to getting there begins with a fundamental principle the government has forgotten – the willingness to listen,” he said.
“True leadership begins with listening, and that is my starting point as I set my sights on making our education system the best it can possibly be,” he said.
A backgrounder outlining Wakeham’s education plan has been attached.
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