CEGEP is facing a record increase in the number of students this year, double the increase expected. Due to the lack of space, the establishment of modular classrooms, commonly called “trailers”, continues across the college network.
According to preliminary data collected by the Fédération des Cégeps, the number of registrations this year grew by 5.3%, while the anticipated increase was more than 2%, as forecast by the Ministry of Higher Education.
“This is the largest increase in registrations in the last 25 years,” says Marie Montpetit, the new president and CEO of the Fédération des Cégeps. The Journal The meeting took place during a media tour in preparation for the start of the school year.
“This in itself is great news, but it also brings a number of significant challenges,” she says, particularly in terms of the capacity to welcome and supervise new students.
And this is just the beginning, as the college network is projected to grow by 20% within 10 years.
“CEGEPs are in resolution mode, but we are concerned about the situation,” says Ms Montpetit. “For years, there have been requests for additional investments in infrastructure that are not necessary.”
The expansion needs to happen quickly “if we want to be able to accommodate and welcome new students.”
“Trailer Generation”
This increase was “predicted and expected” because it follows the demographic curve, marked by the mini-baby boom that Quebec experienced in the late 2000s, Ms. Montpetit points out, evoking a “trailer generation.”
“These youth were in trailers in elementary school, they were in trailers in secondary school, and now, it’s going to be trailers at CEGEP,” she says.
Over the past year, modular classrooms have appeared in several CEGEPs, particularly in the greater Montreal area, including the South Shore, Laval, and the Laurentians.
“This cannot be the be-all and end-all solution,” says Ms Montpetit. “There really needs to be a boost in investment in infrastructure.”
To cope with the space shortage, CEGEP is forced to rent premises outside its campus and reorganise its schedule, especially to offer evening classes.
Quebec must invest the money needed to expand CEGEPs, but also to renovate them, says Marie Montpetit. According to the latest government report, two-thirds of CEGEPs are in poor condition.
For his part, the Minister of Higher Education, Pascal Dery, confirmed during a press scrum on Wednesday, that the shortage of places at CEGEP was a “priority issue”, while acknowledging that it was a “challenge”.
According to the Quebec Infrastructure Plan, there are about ten expansion projects underway in the college network. Half of them are still under study rather than in the planning or implementation phase.
The ten regions with the highest growth in the number of CEGEP students
Lanaudiere: 10%
Mauricia: 9.2%
Chaudière-Appalaches: 8.7%
Centre-du-Québec: 7.9%
Montérégie: 7.7%
Laurentian: 7.1%
Abitibi-Témiscamingue: 6.8%
Quebec: 4.9%
Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean: 4.4%
Outaouais: 4.2%
In addition to the demographic curve, the rise in the unemployment rate among 15-24 year olds could explain this increase. Young people who had left CEGEP during the pandemic may also have decided to return to studies this year.