1980 |
. a |
1981 | . |
1982 | February: Premier William R. Bennett
(leader of the provincial Social Credit Party) announces a new
programme to curtail government spending. The programme,
known as Restraint, provokes opposition and great hostility
among organized labour groups, including provincial employee
unions and the British Columbia Teachers' Federation. August: William ("Bill") van der Zalm is appointed Minister of Education and is responsible for implementing Restraint measures in the education sector.
|
1983 | School Wars!, a term coined by
journalists to describe unprecedented hostility between the
provincial government and public school workers. Teachers
and school support staff take part in a 3 day strike to protest
reductions in education funding. The protest is part of a
wide organized labour opposition movement known as Solidarity. May 26: Jack Heindrich is appointed Minister of Education.
|
1984 | Province-wide Grade 12 examinations are re-introduced. The exams had been scrapped in 1973.
|
1985 | ..
|
1986 | February 11: James
("Jim") Hewitt is appointed Minister of
Education. He is succeeded on August 11 by Anthony
("Tony") Brummet. (Hewitt is takes on the
Education portfolio again in 1990.) Pacific Vocational Institute and British Columbia Institute of Technology are merged. The new institution becomes the flagship of trades and technological training in British Columbia. The "new" BCIT also becomes a focal point for the transfer of applied technology when its Technology Centre is created.
|
1987 | A Royal Commission on Education
is appointed under the direction of Barry Sullivan, Q.C. The
enquiry comes to be known as the Sullivan Royal Commission.
The British Columbia College of Teachers is created under the Teaching Profession Act to establish and promote Standards for the education, competence and professional conduct of its members. The College is a statutory body whose major function is to regulate the education profession in the public interest. |
1988 | The Sullivan Royal Commission Report
is published. The provincial government accepts nearly all
of its 83 recommendations, including a blueprint for an innovative
curriculum program known as Year 2000. The British Columbia Principals' and Vice Principals' Association [BCPVPA] is formed.
|
1989 | Parent Advisory Councils are
recognized at every school, following recommendations from the
Sullivan Royal Commission and changes to the Public School Act.
PACs take up some of the school-advocacy
campaigns formerly conducted by PTAs.
In 1990, local PACs form the British Columbia Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils.
|