Manitoba government delays education report, cites COVID-19 uncertainty

The Manitoba government is pushing back some planned reforms in kindergarten to Grade 12 education by a year, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen was to release a report at the end of this month, but said it will be delayed and significant education changes will not occur until the summer of 2021 at the earliest.

Recommendations are difficult to implement in uncertain times, Goertzen said.

The review began last year into ways to improve literacy, graduation rates and test scores.

It was also to look at administration, and Goertzen had hinted it could lead to fewer school divisions.

Lead consultant Avis Glaze also produced a report for the Nova Scotia government that led to the province replacing elected English-language school boards with a 15-member advisory council.

"While it was the intention of government to release the report at the end of March, because of the current COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to delay its release. We need teachers and education staff to be focused on the needs of their students at this time," Goertzen wrote in a Twitter post Wednesday.

"There are many excellent recommendations in the K-12 commission report but even excellent recommendations are difficult to implement in uncertain times."