Free ride over for some adult ed classes

Free ride over for some adult ed classes Vancouver Sun Janet Steffenhagen May 22, 2012 A government program that offers free courses for high school graduates who want to upgrade their skills has been radically scaled back after the Education Ministry decided it had expanded far beyond its original intent. Under the program, tuition fees were abolished in 2008 but the mandate was left openended. That allowed B.C. school districts to offer free online courses for adults in a range of subjects such as photography, hair design, drawing, guitar, film and television, outdoor pursuits, computers, cosmetology, horsemanship and more than half a dozen languages. Education Minister George Abbott said the program, called the Education Guarantee, was never intended to provide "personal interest" courses. "There's been a huge proliferation in personal-interest courses like rock-and-roll history, body toning, hip-hop, Latin and ballroom dance. I mean, these are fine things in their own right ... [but] are they consistent with an education guarantee? I don't think so." The ministry could not confirm that all of the online courses mentioned by Abbott have been offered tuitionfree but said they were among 3,000 permitted under the Education Guarantee. Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Free+ride+over+some+adult+classes/6657316/story.html#ixzz1vfP65M13