One of the seven tasks of the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, consists in putting forward solutions to solve the shortage of teachers. How will he achieve this if he does not make sure to understand what is at the source of this situation and what it consists of?
A growing shortage…
Thus, this shortage is not new. It has its origins in the budgetary policies of the Bouchard government which, in 1997, forced 8,514 teachers to retire. In 2003, even janitors did replacements in CSDM schools! Both in the Government of Quebec and in certain universities, we lived for years in staggering denial. In 2020, even Minister Roberge preferred to talk about scarcity depending on the region…
The causes
Among the reasons for this shortage are working conditions. Despite the fact that the CAQ has reduced the gap between the salaries of Quebec teachers and those of Canadian teachers, nothing helps.
We do not always seem to understand that this disaffection towards a once prestigious profession stems from the devaluation of this profession. How can we forget this comment from Mr. Legault who associated pedagogical days with holidays?
Another factor is class composition. Because of what is known as the three-speed school, teaching in so-called “ordinary” classes is an obstacle course, both for experienced teachers and for those newly trained at university.
With a glaring absence of services to support them, we understand that the former take early retirement while the latter reorient their careers. An obvious sign of this situation is the failure of Minister Roberge’s “I answer now” program, which only brought in front of a class 600 teachers when we had hoped for 4,000.
Identify the problem before solving it
The important question is whether the current Minister of Education has a clear vision of the situation.
There are important factors before going ahead with any solution. How many teachers are there? How many in primary and how many in secondary? And especially in which subject is this shortage the most important? We are, once again with regard to the Ministry of Education, faced with an incredible absence of data.
Currently, the minister seems to give the impression of moving towards a general solution, that of allowing a holder of a bachelor’s degree to complete a one-year training course in pedagogy in order to find himself in front of a class. Will a selection be made as to the subjects in which the potential candidates are already trained? Will we end up with accountants who will teach French? Likewise, will we ensure that the real needs of the school network are met? Will we end up with hundreds of English teachers when we need more in science?
When we know the way education is managed in Quebec, we would not be surprised.
Luc Papineau, Teacher, L’Assomption