A few days before the start of the school year, the Minister of Education Jean-François Roberge shows “jovialism” when he affirms that there will be a teacher in front of each class. “It’s insane,” said the president of the Federation of Education Unions (FSE), Josée Scalabrini.
Posted at 11:47 a.m.
Last week, the minister said that there are still 700 teaching positions to be filled for the next school year. A figure immediately disputed by the school principals, who believe that it would be better to speak of the double.
“We know that last year there were a lot of jobs [d’enseignants] not legally qualified. How do you expect that for the start of the school year, we can think that there will be a legally qualified teacher in front of each class? asks Josée Scalabrini.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Josee Scalabrini
It is impossible, she says, that the ministry does not have more precise figures on the shortage of teachers.
“The messages that [le ministère] wants to pass are debatable,” she said. “Parents have the right to have the right numbers. They are also worried about who will be in their child’s class next week,” Ms.me Scalabrini, who believes that with the approach of the elections, “the positive messages pass better than the negative ones”.
In a press briefing in Montreal on Monday, the unions of teachers, professionals and support staff affiliated with the CSQ said that they have been hammering for years that the shortage is threatening schools in the province.
“The situation is not improving, it is getting worse,” said Jacques Landry. “Last year alone, we had more than 500 vacancies in direct student service,” he says. As a result, students wait for months to access the services of a psychologist, for example.
In Lac-Saint-Jean, 250 students are on a waiting list to be registered for daycare, says the Federation of School Support Staff.
“Are you telling me we just woke up a week before school started? What are they doing, these people, who are often in schools further away [de la maison] ? asks Éric Pronovost, president of this union.