by Lauren Golosky
Apparently, next year there will be no wait list for people in Saskatchewan to get into Adult Basic Education (ABE). That was an objective undertaken in last year’s provincial budget, with an extra $1.5 million allocated for ABE programming.
While it is too soon to tell if the government’s promise will be met, there is still work to be done in eradicating the wait list.
Saskatchewan’s biggest provider of ABE is SIAST, and its wait list exceeds 600 people. Smaller regional institutions, such as Great Plains College and Parkland College, are also turning away potential students.
There are many reasons why ABE is in demand. ABE is the umbrella term for basic education, from high school upgrading to GED to English language skills. These are programs and skills that many of us take for granted.
The wait for these programs can be detrimental. ABE students I spoke to at SIAST Wascana Campus describe waits of six months to a year. They said the wait was frustrating and disheartening. I can only imagine the people that weren’t in that classroom because the wait was too daunting. Maybe they are still waiting. Maybe they gave up.
While finishing Grade 10 mathematics or getting a high school diploma may seem trivial to some, it’s not that easy for everyone. Not everyone is raised in a home that values education. Not everyone has a home at all.
Carlo Bizzarri, program manager of the Ignite Adult Learning Centre in Regina, says many of his students didn’t make education a priority before. When you think about what they are up against, it’s understandable. Many of these students don’t have a stable home. Their parents kick them out for whatever reason – bad behaviour or they just can’t support them – and these young adults are left to figure it out for themselves. Suddenly, an important test at school isn’t as important as finding a place to sleep every night.
That’s just one example. For at-risk youth, like the ones who enroll at Ignite, the obstacles in their way for completing secondary education are limitless. Some don’t feel like they fit in the mainstream school system; some have children; some aren’t supported.
But it’s not just at-risk youth seeking ABE programming.
Saskatchewan is seeing an influx of immigrants. These newcomers are facing waits to English as a second language (ESL) programs. For example, SIAST’s 600 plus waiting list includes those waiting for ESL training.
With one of the highest drop-out rates in the country at 9.2 per cent in 2012, and a hotspot for new Canadians, the demand will only increase. Are the government’s attempts to quash the wait list – including adding about 300 more spots for ABE across the province – enough? Will it be enough to meet the government’s goal of no wait list by 2015, a mere budget away.
Unless tomorrow’s budget has the solution, the government’s goal is just a pipedream. A pipedream that might be getting in the way of the dreams and ambitions of Saskatchewan’s youth and newcomers.
