Students head back to school, but overall enrolment on the decline, minister says

As students across the province return to class on Thursday, Nova Scotia's education minister says that school enrolments continue to decline. 

Education Minister Karen Casey told CBC's Information Morning that there are roughly 117,000 students in Nova Scotia, although official numbers won't be known until Sept. 30. 

That number is a down from last year and part of an overall decline over the past decade.

'Trying to reverse that trend'

"We're trying to reverse that trend, but we have to accept it and work with the students who come before us." 

Casey said the dip is particularly pronounced in rural areas, with small rural schools most affected.

As schools try to accommodate this shift, Casey said the biggest challenge is to adjust the teaching allocation to reflect a smaller classroom population.

Tentative deal

Nonetheless, Casey said progress is being made on another issue affecting teaching staff — the contract agreement between the Nova Scotia Teachers Union and the provincial government.

On Wednesday, the union, which represents around 10,000 teachers and support staff, announced that it had reached a tentative deal with the province.

Last December, the union rejected another tentative agreement with the provincial government that included the same salary agreement as was extended to other public sector unions — a zero per cent increase for two years, followed by a one- and 1.5-per cent increase for the subsequent two years.

'I'm optimistic'

Casey said the two sides have been negotiating since that deal was rejected, and she's optimistic that the contract will go forward.

"I've met with the new president. We both agree that the teaching and learning environment in the classroom is a priority for us, so I'm optimistic that the deal will be something that teachers will accept."

At a Labour Day parade on Monday, the new president of the union, Liette Doucet, told CBC News that the union was disappointed that the government remained inflexible on wage increases.