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Alberta teachers' union losing provincial funds to operate exchange program

Alberta teachers' union losing provincial funds to operate exchange program

The Alberta Teachers' Association says the future of its international exchange program is up in the air because of a decision by the province to stop paying the union to operate it.

The ATA started overseeing an international exchange program for teachers in 2010, using a grant of between $350,000 and $500,000 per year from the province to co-ordinate and administer it.

ATA spokesperson Jonathan Teghtmeyer says the union arranges exchanges for hundreds of teachers and students every year through the International Education Exchange Programs (IEEP).

The programs allow students, teachers and administrators to spend from two weeks to a full year in another province or at a school abroad, including Germany, Spain, Denmark and the United Kingdom.

But Teghtmeyer says staff members were told recently by the province that the association would no longer administer the program as of the end of June.

Teghtmeyer says he's concerned about people who could be caught in the middle of the changes.

"So they will have started when the program is under our administration and at some point somebody else will take it over and we're just not sure who that is, and what it will look like and how that handoff will go," he said.

In a statement provided to CBC News, the province says that as of July 1 student exchanges will be operated through the department of education in collaboration with school districts.

A department spokesperson said the province is working with the districts and the ATA to come up with a new collaborative model for teacher exchanges.

"Our government is committed to ensuring that teacher and international student exchanges continue," Education Minister David Eggen said in an emailed statement.

"Our province's strength lies in its diversity, and we value the need for intercultural understanding in an increasingly global and fast-changing society."

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