Ontario government is the cause of teacher recruitment and retention crisis, union charge

Ontario schools can’t recruit or retain enough teachers thanks to a “mess” created by the Ford government, Ontario’s four teachers’ unions charge.

Union leaders were responding to comments made Wednesday by Education Minister Stephen Lecce, who said the province is considering “every available option” to address a teacher shortage which has left school boards across Ontario scrambling.

They blamed the government for using “Band-Aid” solutions to fill growing gaps, such as extending the number of days retired teachers can work or allowing student-teachers to be at the front of the classroom.

Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association President René Jansen in de Wal said Lecce could do more to collaborate with educators.

“There are things he could do right now that would be far more effective, without anyone’s permission … and he’s not doing them,” Jansen in de Wal said. “The Ontario Teachers’ Federation has made recommendations to him … and he doesn’t want to act on those things.”

 

 

In a statement, Lecce noted that teacher shortages are a national problem. Since 2018, he said his government has added nearly 3,000 teachers and “reduced red tape” for new teachers entering the classroom.

But NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the shortage “isn’t coming out of nowhere” and teachers under Premier Doug Ford’s leadership are overburdened.

“People are leaving because they’re exhausted, they’re disrespected. We need smaller class sizes; we need more educational assistance in our schools. We probably do need to look at other avenues like reducing the number of years in teachers’ college,” Stiles said.

Teachers need to feel valued, Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) President Karen Littlewood said.

“In every area of the province, there are multiple schools every day who have unqualified individuals in them who are covering classes,” Littlewood said, referring to educational support workings filling in.

 

 

New teachers aren’t filling full-time positions because they need to commit to one school board early in their careers and transferring to another board later is difficult, Littlewood said.

Qualified technology and science teachers are leaving for non-teaching jobs, which offer higher pay and less stress, Littlewood said.

She said some high schools can’t run university prerequisites every semester because there aren’t enough qualified teachers.

 

This article was reported by The Star