This text is part of the special Syndicalism section
The presence of lecturers in Quebec universities is not new. Today, there are around 11,000, equally divided between men and women. A significant contribution to university education, but not for all that appreciated at its true value, deplores the FNEEQ.
Despite the extent and quality of their contribution, and the fact that they are part of the teaching staff, the lecturers are not part of the permanent teaching staff. “They are teachers with precarious status, because they are all contractual employees, each contract of which is usually for a period of 15 weeks”, underlines Christine Gauthier, vice-president of the National Federation of Teachers of Quebec ( FNEEQ-CSN).
In addition, the profile of lecturers has changed a lot over the years. And although most of them are still teaching at the undergraduate level, today the vast majority have a master’s degree, 43% a doctorate education, and 23% a doctorate. Gone are the days when the latter were, for the most part, still students.
A choice of profession
“The role of lecturers has become much more professional,” explains Christine Gauthier, “and there are more and more people among them who can be qualified as career lecturers. As proof, nearly 60% of them have at least 15 years of university teaching experience. The course load, like the accumulation of it, then becomes a means of participating full-time in university education.
“But because of their contractual status, it’s a battle of titans,” says Mme Gauthier. First, they must accumulate enough courses to showcase their experience and, once it is recognized, they are faced with the dilemma of never knowing, from one year to the next, how many course loads there are. will entrust them, or even if they will be entrusted with one. “
A situation that continues and that deserves, according to the vice-president, to be corrected. “We should be able to offer the lecturers longer-term contracts. For example, a contract that would guarantee them a certain number of course loads per year. It would be a win-win situation. The university could then count on the availability of the lecturer, and the latter would gain in predictability. “
Freedom of education
Gone are the days when the lecturer arrived at the university, gave his course in class and left immediately. Nowadays, these teachers are given educational tasks outside the classroom, such as supervising students, reviewing and evaluating study programs, creating teaching materials, etc. Where the shoe pinches is with university research.
“Lecturers cannot lead research projects on their own, because they do not have access to the funding offered by the granting agencies, whether they are Quebec or Canadian,” specifies Mr.me Gauthier. And if they participate in a research project led by a professor, they cannot be remunerated out of the funds obtained thanks to the grant. The granting organizations would have to agree to open up to requests for grants from lecturers. If the latter are now part of the university teaching collegiality, they should also be able to form part of the university research collegiality. “
For some time now and following certain events, freedom of education has also given rise to its share of controversy to the point that the present government has set up the Cloutier commission whose mission is to determine the principles of freedom of education. education, as well as the responsibility of the various actors in this regard. “We hope that the measures that will be put in place by the Cloutier commission will take into account the situation of the lecturers, because the precariousness of the latter makes them particularly vulnerable. “
For 21 years now, the FNEEQ has declared November 22 National Day for lecturers. This year, the FNEEQ is innovating by organizing a Forum in which Danielle McCann, Minister of Higher Education, and Rémi Quirion, Chief Scientist of Quebec, will participate, among others.
“This Forum is an opportunity to shed more light on the contribution and enrichment that lecturers bring to university education”, concludes Christine Gauthier.