There are still 3,722 support staff positions to be filled in Quebec schools, as the school year begins. This is according to data from the Ministry of Education posted online Monday. This represents almost 400 more vacant positions than at the same time last year.
Among the 3,722 positions to be filled, Quebec has 2,547 daycare educators and 1,175 special education technicians. These vacant positions represent nearly 10% of all support staff positions.
It should also be recalled that last week, there was still a shortage of 3,858 teachers, which represented 4% of the total workforce. New data will be updated on Wednesday, the ministry said in a press release.
This nevertheless represented an improvement compared to August 15, when there was a shortage of up to 5,700 teachers, Minister Bernard Drainville revealed at a press conference.
“I’ll tell you straight away: is the shortage over? No. It is even less so because there are more students to educate this year,” the minister said, less than two weeks before the start of the school year.
The figures published Monday by the ministry had also been promised last week by Mr. Drainville. “The data is being analyzed,” he said. “What we want is to make reliable data public.”
The return to class for primary and secondary students will be staggered between August 26 and 30 in most Quebec schools.
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