Anglophone school system projects shortfall of more than 500 teachers in September
Department of Education says it's offered conditional contracts to 132 education graduates
New Brunswick's anglophone school system will be more than 500 teachers short when students return to class this fall, according to the New Brunswick Teachers' Association.
Although school will soon be winding down for the summer, teachers' association president Peter Lagacy said members are already worried about what will happen when class is back in session.
That's because the association is projecting a teacher shortfall of 524, with hundreds set to retire and the province continuing to see population growth.
"I would say anxious, a little bit nervous for what fall might bring," he said at a news conference, describing how teachers are feeling about the fall.
"I think some of them are a little bit scared, that, you know, is this the new norm for education in New Brunswick?"
While association spokesperson Chantal Lafargue did not have figures for last year, she said in an email there are signs the situation has worsened since then.
"We do know for fact that New Brunswick relied on 266 per cent more adults without a bachelor of education degree than last year, which means it is getting worse," she said. "And we know we need 150 more certified teachers on top of that due to population growth."
Those without a bachelor of education degree can work as a teacher through a local permit contract, but Lagacy said that denies students a proper education.
"We've seen an increase in the number of local permits and, you know, I don't want that to be the only go-to in the fall to try and get [teachers] in classrooms," he said.
Lagacy noted schools also saw unfilled absences — leaving classrooms without a teacher — for 7,068 days between September and March of the past school year.
"Being complacent about students' futures and our province's public education system by not providing classrooms with enough certified teachers is unacceptable," Lagacy said in a release Thursday.
"Teachers will question political priorities if they do not see clear evidence in the coming months that this shortage will be addressed."
Lagacy said he would like to see the department spend more on teacher retention and issue a recruitment plan for the next few years.
In a statement, Education Minister Bill Hogan said the province understands the urgency of the situation.
He said the department has struck a "centralized recruitment team" to bring more teachers into the system.
"Part of their work has involved collaborating with universities to offer immediate conditional contracts" to bachelor of education graduates," Hogan said. "So far, we have offered 132 contracts for 2024-25."
Hogan said the department has also added 21 supply teachers for the 2024-25 school year, and recruitment work will continue through the summer.
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