Enlist education students to support overworked staff in schools, Manitoba NDP urges
500 students at the University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg set to graduate next year
The Manitoba New Democrats want the provincial government to ease the strain on the education system by hiring students who are near the end of their teacher-training programs.
Education students in the last year of their university studies are suited to become the extra teachers, substitutes, educational assistants and classroom support workers the province needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Opposition party says.
Existing staff say they're overwhelmed, trying to juggle teaching duties with students in different rooms and those learning at home.
NDP Leader Wab Kinew said the province could tap into $85.4 million in federal money already set aside for the education system to hire students to work in schools.
"What we're proposing today is to get those teachers who've already done the vast majority of their training, who've already been in the classroom this year to now get, at least on an emergency basis, certified to teach in our classrooms," he said Wednesday.
But the province said it has already allowed appropriate non-teachers to work in classrooms for years, through limited teaching permits. A provincial spokesperson didn't say, though, if the province would extend that option to university students on the verge of graduating this year.
"The use of limited teaching permits is something we have encouraged and some divisions have utilized to help ensure there are staff available to keep our students in school learning and safe," the spokesperson said in an email.
James Bedford, president of the Manitoba Teachers' Society, said the society has been working with school boards during the pandemic to find ways for education students to work as substitute teachers during the school year. That's already taking place, Bedford said.
He said there are also cases where individuals with university education, but who don't have teaching degrees, can be hired as substitutes, especially when the school division is able to demonstrate it can't find enough certified teachers.
Education students would be hired under those same provisions, he said.
"This is good because we are experiencing a shortage of substitutes in schools," he said.
"Any decisions at this point in time that increase the pool of substitute teachers in the province would be beneficial to public education."
NDP education critic Nello Altomare said the students who take up the emergency offer could finish their university requirements in the evenings.
"A lot of teachers do that already," he said, especially those that are working on a post-baccalaureate or master's degree. "They work during the day and at night they're in class."
The province said it also reached out to the Retired Teachers' Association of Manitoba to encourage former educators to return as substitutes.
"We continue to work with our education stakeholders and divisions, who are the employing authorities, to find creative ways to ensure there are staff in schools," the province said.
