The correctors of the uniform French test at CEGEP have discreetly escaped the hiring freeze imposed in the public service.
Published yesterday at 9:05 p.m.
They were informed of a recruitment freeze in an email from the Ministry of Higher Education sent on Tuesday, less than a month before the next test.
“As you may know, the Quebec government recently decreed a recruitment freeze concerning regular and casual staff,” indicates the email, obtained by The Press.
“This freeze also targets the hiring of proofreaders […]. Steps are being taken with the competent authority to obtain an exemption necessary for the recruitment of resources allocated to the correction of the uniform college language test,” we continue.
A few weeks earlier, correctors had been invited to submit in advance their availability for the next correction session, while the Ministry anticipated an increase in the number of copies.
In fact, a cohort of 2,500 students from English-speaking CEGEPs will take the uniform French test for the first time at the end of the session, under the Charter of the French Language in Higher Education.
“Your overview will still help us to better estimate labor needs and ensure that we respect the expected correction deadlines,” the email then underlined.
Contacted by The Pressthe Ministry of Higher Education responded on Friday that an exemption had been granted to correctors. The grades will be submitted within the usual deadlines, it was assured.
“The process surrounding the administration of the uniform test is progressing as planned and the necessary proofreaders can be hired,” assured spokesperson Bryan St-Louis.
The uniform French test is compulsory for obtaining the college diploma. Last fall, more than 21,000 students took the exam, which involves writing a critical essay.
Source de stress
The president of the Quebec College Student Federation, Antoine Dervieux, deplored the freeze on the recruitment of proofreaders, shortly before they were exempted.
Students must be able to receive their grade within a reasonable time, he argued, stressing that the test represents a source of stress for many of them.
“It’s a big test, which applies to many,” he explained.
By announcing a freeze on public service recruitment, Quebec announced that direct services to students would not be affected.
However, “correcting a final test is a direct service”, underlined at the beginning of the week Benoît Lacoursière, president of the National Federation of Teachers of Quebec.
