On August 28, 2024, the minister of education decided that the “déboulage” would no longer exist. They took this decision because it contravenes the political regime and the law of public education.
In June 2023, the “déboulage” allowed 513 students, who had failed their French course in their fourth year of secondary school, to obtain the units needed to pass the same course a year later.
“Déboulage en éducation” primarily allowed high school students in the second cycle who had failed specific subjects to obtain the necessary units to pass and advance to the upper level.
At the end of the school year of 2024-2025, “déboulage” will no longer be allowed. The students who are failing will need to take the necessary steps to ensure their success and earn the units they need to pass their year. There are several options, including taking a summer class, retaking an exam, or repeating the program the following year.
For example, if a student is in secondary 3 and is failing French, but passes all the other subjects and is unable to take a summer class, the student would still progress to secondary 4 but would remain in secondary 3 for the French class. If that happens, it would become problematic because when the student reaches secondary 5 but still has a secondary 4 French class, he would need one more year to pass his secondary 5 French class.
Unfortunately, there is no more time to take that class because after secondary 5, it is CEGEP, which can be confusing, and nobody knows what would happen in that case.
However, for an exceptional reason, it would be possible to allow a student to pass their year and advance to the upper level despite failure due to extreme circumstances. For example, if someone has a serious health problem or has experienced a tragic event, they would be able to pass their year event, though they failed it.
“The minister has always said that student success is his priority and that standards would never be lowered. That’s why, after asking all the necessary questions about this practice, he decided to put an end to it,” said Antoine de la Durantaye.
This new measure will affect the groups because someone could have French in secondary 5, art in secondary 3, and history in secondary 4. It is going to get confusing; teachers and students are wondering how it will work. It is also going to get complicated to make the schedules.
