During my career as a secondary school teacher, I was given the chance to welcome interns from the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Laval University into my classes. Although observers at the start of the internship, very quickly, they were subject to delivering courses, the content of which they developed themselves. Although it would have been entirely appropriate to pay them, there was no question of it at the time.
However, on March 30, 2023, the four parties represented in the National Assembly, including the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government, unanimously adopted a motion which grants employee status to student interns in the public sector. But a year later, nothing has changed.
Today, interns are rightly demanding to be paid, which would allow them to alleviate the burden of tuition fees and the increase in the cost of living compared to the 1980s. However, the Quebec minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, cavalierly argues that her government “made budgetary choices” and that paying its student interns is not one of them. “In this budget, we have made important, demanding choices. Necessary choices. And those are the choices. So at this moment, in the context, it is not possible for the government to take this path,” she explained.
The teaching profession lacks love and, as a side effect, attractiveness. The labor shortage in education is literally alarming. The internship is part of the curriculum for educational sciences students. His remuneration would, in my opinion, help to alleviate the hesitation of students who are thinking of taking the path of teaching.
To watch on video