Ministère de l’Éducation: react quickly based on the school calendar

The context

• A secondary-level student had been enrolled in an English school since 2017.
• She learned that she would not qualify for English instruction in 2020-2021. The Ministère de l’Éducation said that it was because her father’s immigration status had changed.
• In June 2020, the man sent the Examining Committee a request. He wanted his daughter to be allowed to finish her last year of secondary school in English.
• When the school year began, the father was still without news.
• The young girl could not go to class before the Department confirmed that she was eligible.

The complaint

Hoping that the situation would be settled quickly, the father complained to the Protecteur du citoyen.

What the investigation showed

• In August, the Examining Committee had recommended that the girl continue her education in English. The very next day, it sent the file to the minister concerned for a decision.
• In late September, the father was still waiting for an answer.

The outcome

The Protecteur du citoyen intervened to speed things up. The same day the student received the authorization she needed to go back to her English school.

This case was taken from our 2020-2021 Annual Report.