The Quebec Ministry of Education (MEQ) does not know exactly how many remedial and special education teacher positions need to be filled in Quebec schools, which compromises the services received by students with adjustment or learning difficulties. , notes the Québec Ombudsman.
School service centers do not have the staff required to meet the needs of all students, he said in a special report released Monday.
“Although this situation has serious consequences for some students, the MEQ does not have a clear picture of vacancies in complementary educational services, both among support staff and professional staff,” states the document.
The Québec Ombudsman also observes that the professionals providing services to students in difficulty continue to be overwhelmed with paperwork, despite a promise from the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge. In 2020, Mr. Roberge had promised to relieve them of this burden.
According to the report, the “quality assurance” process imposed by the MEQ to justify the budgets paid for students in difficulty continues to rest on the shoulders of the staff who exempt them.
“The latter thus spends a significant number of hours reporting rather than assessing the needs of the students or providing them with the services they need,” the document indicates.
Lack of funding is also a problem that compromises the supply of complementary educational services.
“If the services are offered ‘according to what is possible’ rather than ‘according to what is necessary’, it is because some students are not making the progress that they could be making while they wait their turn”, emphasizes the report.
The Education Act guarantees each student the right to receive free teaching services and complementary educational services.
In addition to remedial education and special education, these services include psychoeducation, speech therapy and psychology.
Further details will follow.