New language law bogs down Quebec's English CEGEPs, staff say

CBC

29-01-2025

Workers at Quebec's English CEGEPs say the province's new language law, which went into effect at the start of the current school year, has led to confusion as they try to help students navigate the rules.
Academic advisors and other staff have struggled to make sense of the changes — and students are paying the price, said Éric Cyr, head of the union that represents non-teaching staff at CEGEPs.
Under provisions of Law 14 (also known as Bill 96) that went into effect last fall, students are required to take an additional three courses in French, on top of the two already required.
Cyr said prior to the changes, there were a little over a dozen different options for students when it came to the combination of courses they could take to get them to graduation. Now there are 115, he said.
"That's a lot of work, a lot of stress," Cyr, president of the Fédération du personnel professionnel des collèges, said in an interview.
"You don't want to have a student coming towards the end of his or her studies and noticing that one course is missing, for example, because it was taken in English and should have been taken in French because of the new law."
An added stress
The prospect of taking so many courses in French can be a source of anxiety, particularly for anglophones, new immigrants and Indigenous students that aren't fluent, said Dayle Lesperance, an academic advisor at Champlain College on Montreal's South Shore.
"Students are definitely stressed about the French courses that they need to take," she said.
Sasha Allen, a student at Champlain, said additional French courses have been a challenge he hadn't anticipated.
"For sure it increases the stress because it's just something added," Allen said.
Savannah Mangerpan, another student, said it's "a little bit frustrating."
"For students who aren't as fluent, I think it's a bit harder to get through school."
In a statement on Tuesday, Quebec's Education Ministry said resources are allocated to CEGEPs to allow them to offer support to help students succeed under the new law, such as workshops and French language support centres.
The ministry has budgeted about $8 million so far for English CEGEPs to help students navigate the changes.
WATCH | New Quebec language rules unfairly affect Indigenous students, English CEGEPs warn:
New Quebec language rules unfairly affect Indigenous students, English CEGEPs warn
8 months ago
Duration 2:24
The directors of five English CEGEPs say exemptions to Bill 96 made by the Quebec government for Indigenous students are insufficient.