Architect of modern Quebec education system dies at 98; state funeral planned
MONTREAL — Paul Gerin-Lajoie, a key architect of education system reforms in Quebec during the 1960s, has died at the age of 98.
The foundation he created in 1977 says he died on Monday surrounded by his family.
Gerin-Lajoie was Quebec’s first education minister from 1964 to 1966 in the government of Jean Lesage.
He launched a vast survey of education in Quebec and its findings led to a new school system that included free public education, an obligation to attend school until age 16, the establishment of the CEGEP system and an improvement in teacher training.