On Campus

Dalhousie and Memorial suspend education program plans

Ministry asked universities to hold on new teacher training seats because of lack of teaching jobs

Dalhousie University has voluntarily suspended plans to move ahead with an education program with Memorial University of Newfoundland this fall.The agreement would have provided up to 60 new spaces at the Halifax school for students to take courses offered by Memorial in St. John’s.

University spokesman Charles Crosby says the decision was made to honour a request by Education Minister Karen Casey to suspend the plan until she responded to a recent report on teacher education.

He says time constraints now make it impossible to proceed.

Casey had expressed concerns that Dalhousie’s move would add to an oversupply of teacher graduates for the number of jobs available in the province.

In her response to the report, Casey is promising a new law forcing universities to seek her permission to continue to graduate teachers in select disciplines according to supply and demand needs.

With the legislation not slated until 2009, a program set for the fall at Cape Breton University can go ahead if it caps enrolment at 40 students and targets specific teaching specialties.

-with a report from CP 

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