McGill University graduates cry foul after waiting months for teaching licences

Vincent J.Carbonneau has been working as a substitute teacher in Quebec for six months while he waits for a key document from his alma mater — his teaching licence.

"We're at a time when we're looking for contracts right now," said Carbonneau, but schools are demanding he show proof that he is certified to teach in Canada.

He's among 45 graduates of McGill University's Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning (MATL) program that are still waiting for their Ministry of Education-approved teaching licence, which is known as a brevet in Quebec and is valid anywhere in the country.

"Considering the shortage of teachers, it's just unacceptable. We paid our tuition and we're not getting proper service. It's just unacceptable."

Carbonneau isn't alone. Mélanie Vallée has plans to move to South Korea to teach there next year, but before she uproots her life and hops on a 12-hour flight, she's missing that one key document.

"I love teaching. I love kids. I love everything about it," said Vallée, who has been working as a teacher over the last three years while completing the program.

"I have the job. I'm more worried about my immigration status there. Right now, I have all my other documentation in place."

But her work visa won't be approved until her teaching licence is submitted to South Korean officials.

The MATL professional program is for those already holding an undergraduate degree in a teachable subject area. 

According to McGill spokesperson Claire Loewen, the issue is a result of a university-wide software system change for graduate students, and "an unforeseen complication occurred affecting the MATL student records."

The education department's personnel worked quickly to address the issue by manually compiling the students' records, as it's normally an automated process, she said.

"As documentation differs from student to student, meticulous review of the necessary credits as per ministry guidelines was undertaken," she said.

The education department has reviewed and verified all the MATL student records, and these records are being expedited to the ministry for their approval of licensing, Loewen said.

In addition, the faculty of education has offered a letter of attestation to MATL graduates requiring this documentation, and several students have already taken advantage of this, she said.

However, Loewen's statement to CBC News was different than what was said in an email the university's MATL program sent on May 16 to a student about the certificates. 

In that email, obtained by CBC News, the delay in submitting the licence applications is "due to extreme staffing shortage in the department, however all applications are in progress and will be submitted before the end of the month.

"Students will receive an email once the applications have been submitted."

When asked about this, Loewen said the MATL's email about staffing shortages doesn't contradict the explanation the school provided to CBC News.

Faced with a major shortage of teaching personnel, the Coalition Avenir Québec government announced in January that it wants to revive a fast track to teacher certification.

Under that plan, the government will allow university graduates to qualify as teachers by earning 30 credits instead of the current requirement of 60.