Teacher shortage is at an alarming level - Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Quebec is reporting a shortage of more than 8,500 teachers for the 2023-2024 school year. Of those, nearly 2,000 full-time teacher vacancies are almost certain to not be filled this year.
In New Brunswick, 52% of local bachelor of education graduates choose not to stay in teaching. In one of the least populous provinces, Nunavut, schools were always short at least 10% of teachers at the beginning of this school year, with some schools short nearly 30%.
British Columbia needs to hire at least 20,000 new teachers and 7,000 new school staff over the next 10 years. This is under “ideal” conditions, not taking into account teacher turnover.
Gurpreet Kaur Bains, a language arts leader at a high school in Surrey, British Columbia, says teachers use the words "chaos and stress" to describe the "teacher shortage" plaguing schools across Canada.
She said that when the number of teachers is small, the pressure on those who are in the classroom increases, leading to overcrowding. Bains’ school has to mobilize additional librarians, vice principals, and even principals to teach the classes that are short of teachers.
“We are in survival mode and we feel like everyone in the school is affected,” Ms Bains said.
A classroom in Northern Canada - Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Many schools have to use teachers without qualifications.
Dr. Nathalie Reid, director of the Child Trauma Research Centre at the University of Regina (Canada), said the severe shortage has significantly increased the use of unqualified or uncertified teachers across Canada.
Ms. Reid cited a report in the province of Quebec showing that up to 30,000 people teaching in Quebec schools from 2020-2021 did not have a teaching certificate or a temporary degree.
Meanwhile, Mr. Clint Johnston, president of the British Columbia Teachers' Federation, said solving the teacher shortage is achievable, but it all depends on whether the government commits more... money.
According to Clint Johnston, the government money is not only used to increase teachers' salaries but also to improve their working conditions, attracting more human resources from other fields to education.
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