The Ministry of Education is clarifying comments made by the Minister over replacing the troubled provincial student enrollment software called BCeSIS.
 
Education Minister Don McRae had said the contract wouldn't go to tender until this spring.
 
But the ministry says the request for proposal will actually be issued in a couple of weeks.

The Ministry is also updating the cost of the software putting it at $81.3 million as of the end of 2013.

McRae says he is looking for a BCeSIS replacement that is a little cheaper.

"The world is changing and so is technology so I think we are at a place where we can actually get a program that will have better access for teachers and allow, when students go from one district to another, that there information flows with them seamlessly. But right now what we really want to do is use our stakeholder groups whether it is a teacher, a principal, can they give us feedback as to what would make a great program for them."

McRae says new software will be phased in by September 2014.

"Starting the transition period and it will be by 2015 it should be on province wide usage."

When asked if school districts would still have to pay into the new software, like they do with BCeSIS, McRae says "I am not going to guess where we are going to involve going forward what I do want to know is if there is mistakes in the new program or are there things the districts have a real concern about that they are sharing that information with the ministry that we make sure that we get the best possible program out there."

The province decided to scrap BCeSIS after a 2011 review determined the software was falling short of meeting the needs of educators.

The problem plagued software crashed province wide causing widespread frustrations in the beginning of the 2010 scool year.