Mélissa Gélinas LJI Reporter
In Outaouais, the number of unqualified teachers has practically doubled since 2022, presently reaching over 760.
Unqualified means that they may have a university degree in a field unrelated to teaching or they do not have one at all. More specifically, this means that none of them have a teaching certificate.
The Quebec education system has been experiencing workforce issues for several years. Currently, the teaching profession has lost a lot of popularity. “People are leaving early for retirement or even in the middle of their career,” says Nathalie Gauthier, president of the Outaouais teachers’ union. “When you’re a teacher, you don’t just teach,” she adds. “The task is heavy.”
In addition, qualified teachers often have to help those who aren’t qualified. “[…] it’s going to happen naturally, we’re not going to leave a colleague in poverty,” explains Ms. Gauthier. As a result, friction can sometimes arise.
Due to the high labour shortage, even unqualified teachers get a permanent position with a salary very similar to qualified teachers. In this sense, there’s not much need to going back to school to get a teaching certificate.
Although the government wants to find ways to set up shortened study paths in teaching, the problem will not change since these people will not have the same educational background as those who studied for four years at university. A bachelor’s degree in education, although designed with the goal of teaching, is also designed to teach how to manage behaviours and crisis situations. “We are trying to find solutions, but it is very difficult,” says Nathalie Gauthier.
“I hope we can reverse the trend,” she emphasizes. “We will need a government and a society that takes education in hand,” she continues. “Education is the foundation of our society, and we have a government that keeps making budget cuts.”
Photo: Nathalie Gauthier, President of the Outaouais Teachers’ Union (December 12, 2023) (MG) Photo: Outaouais Teachers’ Union Facebook Page