Education and Early Childhood Development
July 8, 2016

Ensuring a Strong Education System

Provincial and Territorial Education Ministers Focus on National Learning Initiatives

The Honourable Dale Kirby, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, joined with provincial and territorial ministers of education this week for the annual meeting of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC).

�Having the opportunity to meet with my counterparts from across the country helps set the stage for a better education system in this province and throughout Canada. The focus of the CMEC meeting is to ensure we continue on a path of success by building on our strengths, analyzing trends to inform decision making and sharing best practices. I look forward to continuing this work with my colleagues as we pursue a stronger and more responsive education system.�
- The Honourable Dale Kirby, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development

The meeting focused on a number of key areas including:

• Indigenous education, with topics ranging from increasing awareness about the history and legacy of Indian Residential Schools to encouraging more Indigenous people to pursue a teaching career;
• Ensuring a strong foundation of global competencies to help students succeed in an ever-changing economy: critical thinking and problem solving; innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship; learning to learn/self-awareness and self-direction; collaboration; communication; and global citizenship and sustainability;
• Maintaining a sustainable post-secondary education system that is responsive to the needs of students, innovation, employers and the public; and
• Developing a pan-Canadian student transitions reference framework which would take into account jurisdictional approaches that have helped the successful transition of students from secondary school to post-secondary education and then into the workforce.

Founded in 1967, CMEC is a collective voice for Canada�s ministers of education and postsecondary education. It provides leadership in education at the pan-Canadian and international levels and contributes to the exercise of the exclusive jurisdiction of provinces and territories over education. For more information, please visit www.cmec.ca.

QUICK FACTS

• Ministers of education from across the country met in Toronto on July 7-8 for the 105^th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada.
• The meeting focused on several topics including Indigenous education, global competencies, post-secondary education and the successful transition of students from secondary and post-secondary schooling to the workforce.
• The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada is the collective voice of Canada�s ministers of education.

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Media contact:
Blair Medd
Director of Communications
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
709-729-0048, 631-8465
blairmedd@gov.nl.ca

2016 07 08                                                                               4:15 p.m.