TDSB trustees working toward ending partnership with Confucius Institute
Trustees at Canada’s largest school board are taking their first formal steps to dissolve a controversial partnership with the Chinese government.
A Toronto District School Board committee will table a motion on Wednesday to terminate the agreement with the Confucius Institute. The motion is expected to pass, with six of nine trustees on the planning and priorities committee opposed to teaching elementary students Mandarin and other cultural programs offered by the institute, sources say. The motion must then be approved by the full board of trustees.
Trustees overwhelmingly voted in June to delay the rollout of the Confucius Institute to provide an opportunity to investigate concerns about culture programs controlled by China’s Ministry of Education. The agreement with the Confucius Institute generated controversy because instructors are trained to self-censor topics that are politically taboo in China.
Trustee Irene Atkinson plans to table the motion to sever the accord at the planning and priorities committee. Ms. Atkinson said she has been inundated with e-mails from parents, grandparents and community members worried about the impact the partnership will have on students.
“The Confucius Institute has caused an alarming amount of upset,” Ms. Atkinson said in an interview.
A trustee who has read the agreement does not recall any penalties for cancelling it.
TDSB chair Mari Rutka tabled the initial motion to delay offering elementary students programs through the Confucius Institute, beginning in the 2014-15 school year. That motion called for TDSB staff to prepare a report for trustees on the Confucius Institute. Even though the report will not be ready until later this year, Ms. Rutka said it is important to deal with the issue before the new slate of trustees takes over the TDSB following the Oct. 27 municipal election.
Former TDSB chair Chris Bolton was the driving force behind the Confucius Institute. Mr. Bolton abruptly resigned in June, five months before his term as a trustee was to expire, leaving his colleagues on the board to deal with the fallout from the agreement with the Confucius Institute.
Trustees found themselves facing more questions than answers about an agreement unilaterally negotiated by Mr. Bolton. There is no explicit rule requiring school-board trustees to approve all agreements. But the deal with the Chinese government reflects the lack of openness at the board during Mr. Bolton’s time as chairman, trustees said.
Trustees have received hundreds of e-mails and phone calls from parents alarmed over China’s control of the programs.
TDSB trustees working toward ending partnership with Confucius Institute - The Globe and Mail
Trustees at Canada’s largest school board are taking their first formal steps to dissolve a controversial partnership with the Chinese government.
A Toronto District School Board committee will table a motion on Wednesday to terminate the agreement with the Confucius Institute. The motion is expected to pass, with six of nine trustees on the planning and priorities committee opposed to teaching elementary students Mandarin and other cultural programs offered by the institute, sources say. The motion must then be approved by the full board of trustees.
Trustees overwhelmingly voted in June to delay the rollout of the Confucius Institute to provide an opportunity to investigate concerns about culture programs controlled by China’s Ministry of Education. The agreement with the Confucius Institute generated controversy because instructors are trained to self-censor topics that are politically taboo in China.
Trustee Irene Atkinson plans to table the motion to sever the accord at the planning and priorities committee. Ms. Atkinson said she has been inundated with e-mails from parents, grandparents and community members worried about the impact the partnership will have on students.
“The Confucius Institute has caused an alarming amount of upset,” Ms. Atkinson said in an interview.
A trustee who has read the agreement does not recall any penalties for cancelling it.
TDSB chair Mari Rutka tabled the initial motion to delay offering elementary students programs through the Confucius Institute, beginning in the 2014-15 school year. That motion called for TDSB staff to prepare a report for trustees on the Confucius Institute. Even though the report will not be ready until later this year, Ms. Rutka said it is important to deal with the issue before the new slate of trustees takes over the TDSB following the Oct. 27 municipal election.
Former TDSB chair Chris Bolton was the driving force behind the Confucius Institute. Mr. Bolton abruptly resigned in June, five months before his term as a trustee was to expire, leaving his colleagues on the board to deal with the fallout from the agreement with the Confucius Institute.
Trustees found themselves facing more questions than answers about an agreement unilaterally negotiated by Mr. Bolton. There is no explicit rule requiring school-board trustees to approve all agreements. But the deal with the Chinese government reflects the lack of openness at the board during Mr. Bolton’s time as chairman, trustees said.
Trustees have received hundreds of e-mails and phone calls from parents alarmed over China’s control of the programs.
TDSB trustees working toward ending partnership with Confucius Institute - The Globe and Mail