Eighty-five per cent of students should be taking their courses in French, says Benoît Dubreuil.
QUEBEC — The Quebec government should reduce English teaching in CEGEPs and universities so that 85 per cent of students take their courses in French, says Quebec’s French language commissioner.
Gradually reducing the percentage would “ensure the predominance of French in the higher education system, including in Montreal, at the same time as recognizing the need for a reasonable amount of English,” Dubreuil says.
He says the recent adoption of Bill 96, which put in place a ceiling on enrolments in the English system, is already helping Quebec move toward the 85 per cent level naturally.
“This ratio could be attained by the accumulation of measures that will allow the progressive reorientation of a part of the personnel toward francophone institutions,” Dubreuil said.
“It will also be attained by a growing integration of the teaching of French in anglophone institutions.”
Quebec projects the percentage of students studying in English in CEGEP and university will continue to drop until 2033.
There was no immediate reaction from the government to Dubreuil’s idea.
This story will be updated.