The literacy gap is widening between Montreal and the regions

The literacy gap is widening between Montreal and several other RCMs in Quebec.

A gap is widening in education and literacy between the populations of Montreal and those of remote regions, reveals a study by the Literacy Foundation.

Although the study reveals that the literacy of level 3 is on the rise everywhere in Quebec between 2016 and 2021, the proportion of people without a diploma has reached a low of 15% in Montreal, while several regional county municipalities (RCMs) have double this number. The difference between the Montreal agglomeration and the other regions of Quebec was 4.8% in 2016 and was 5.3% in 2021.

According to the government of Quebec, level 3 in literacy corresponds to the ability to understand longer and denser texts, to correctly interpret their meaning or to make adequate connections between the different ideas they contain.

The study attributes this gap to a consequence of the labor shortage, which stimulates premature entry into the labor market. The aging of the population is also called into question since this trend limits the educational profile of several MRCs, unlike the metropolitan region of Montreal, which benefits from university centers and qualified and specialized immigration.

“It is essential to switch to solution mode. Our main objective in measuring these various indices related to the level of literacy of Quebecers always remains that of better understanding the issue so that society is in a better position to react to it, thus making it possible to make Quebec a highly literate society, “says the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Literacy Foundation, André Huberdeau.

The Literacy Foundation hopes that the province will focus more on reducing school dropouts, especially among boys. It also wants to improve the literacy profile of students in trade schools and vocational centers and wants to focus on a national strategy for continuing education in the workplace.