BCTF President frustrated over lack of clarity on teaching shortage

“We need to have somebody tracking those numbers,”

That’s from BC Teachers Federation President Clint Johnston as concerns remain heightened over the teacher shortage in our province, with nobody knowing how bad it is.

Earlier this month, the Quebec provincial government stated they are 85 hundred educators shy of a full complement heading into the school year.

Simply put, it’s hard to know if they are on par or lower than their eastern counterpart because nobody knows what the figure is.

“It was quite good to see what came out of Quebec because it shows that they are actually tracking it. I think that one of our biggest problems in BC is that there is nobody tracking information. You know, it’s the number one question I get asked when I do these interviews and we don’t have a numerical answer because nobody is tracking those shortages,” said Johnston.

“We are even wondering if some of the classrooms will be able to open fully staffed. It is an ongoing concern for us, which we have been trying to lobby the ministry to address for quite some time now, but, going into the school year, we still have that uncertainty.”

Johnston stated the shortage is hurting everyone big and small with the rural and remote communities often taking the biggest hit.

“Districts like Langley and Chilliwack are advertising to hire uncertified teachers and it’s certainly impacting everywhere but I think the rural and remote areas are probably where it is hitting the worst.”

He added while recruiting new teachers hasn’t been an issue, keeping them is a totally different story citing that the increasing workload is mostly to blame.

“If you don’t address those and you don’t make a career (out of teaching) something that can be done for 30 years that is not going to burn you out, that is not going to wear on your mental health and whether you are able to support students properly. If you don’t make sure that is in place, you are just not going to get people staying in the profession.”

Prince George District Teachers Association President Daryl Beauregard stated on Friday there were 100 un-certified teachers working in various capacities last year with one-fifth of them on contract in the Prince George area.

Classes resume in the province on September 5th.