Official Opposition critic for education Rakhi Pancholi stands with Gwendoline Dirk, who organized a roundtable discussion for the Edmonton MLA at the Medicine Hat Public Library.--NEWS PHOTO SAMANTHA JOHNSON
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
More than 40 people showed up at Medicine Hat Public Library to listen to Rakhi Pancholi, the Official Opposition’s new critic for education. The second-term NDP MLA has been talking to people around the province since before the election, and recently, has held roundtables not only in Medicine Hat, but also Red Deer and Lethbridge, and plans to continue with more.
“For me, as the education critic, I want to hear the different stories from what’s happening across the province, there isn’t one universal experience,” explained Pancholi. “It’s important to reflect what is happening in Medicine Hat and in areas like this, which is different than the needs or challenges in Calgary or Edmonton, but there are also some similarities.”
By understanding the stories and making connections, parents, teachers and businesses can become better advocates. Things can be different, she says, but the first step is to get people mobilized by talking about what is happening.
“Every critic has reached out to the ministers with various receptions. I’m happy and hoping to have a professional and engaging relationship with the Minister of Education (Demetrios Nicolaides),” said Pancholi. She was adamant that seeing the minister fail is not something she wants because if he does, it will let down children across this province. “We saw over the last four years what has happened to the education system under (Adriana) LaGrange, a minister of education that I think did some severe damage to public education in this province. I will be holding the government and Minister Nicolaides to account and I will be very fierce in my advocacy. I will also be professional and I want to go in with the best information.”
Thus far, Nicolaides hasn’t done anything new, said Pancholi, and there haven’t been any significant changes since he was appointed in early June. Nicolaides has been issued a mandate letter by Premier Danielle Smith, but it’s uncertain how quickly it will be moved upon.
“I don’t know if it’s just guidelines or if they are things he has to accomplish this year. We are pretty much in the same place, larger class sizes, fewer teachers, fewer supports in the classroom, not enough school buildings, nothing has really changed,” stated Pancholi.
After four years of what she called underfunding in education, Pancholi says she understands it can’t be turned around immediately. But she wants to see recognition from Alberta Education that growing communities and building new schools across the province is important.
“There needs to be some movement quickly because it takes three years to build a school.”
Additionally, she wants an acknowledgment that education has been underfunded in recent years.
“The increase we saw in the 2023 budget is not sufficient to make up for the growing number of students in our province and the growing complexity. We need to see an infusion that isn’t a one-time infusion but is an acknowledgement that we need to change the funding model to recognize that every student must be funded and the supports are there that they need.”
Reversing cuts to Program Unit Funding (PUF) is something Pancholi says needs to happen sooner rather than later.
“The longer we go on with this funding cut, the more long-term that implication is going to be for those kids in the future of their success and learning.”
As school divisions across the province move forward with new curriculum implementation, Pancholi wants Alberta Education to return to a process that is transparent and engages experts and teachers in its development. It should be “done in a way that Albertans can have confidence in, and the implementation is done and resourced properly,” stressed Pancholi. “That we are not overwhelming our school systems and teachers who have been through quite a bit over the last few years. Curriculum change and implementation must be done thoughtfully and resourced properly.”
Pancholi says she enjoyed her visit to Medicine Hat and engaging with residents, adding that the roundtable only ended due to the library closing for the night. Several attendees gathered outside to continue the conversation, which seemed to be far from over.
“It really makes a difference when people in the local community are coming out and sharing their experiences because that’s how we all become better advocates,” Pancholi said.
