PASMA: Ford, Calandra need to go further to address teacher shortage

QUEEN’S PARK — Ontario NDP Shadow Minister of Education Chandra Pasma (Ottawa West—Nepean) says a move by the Ford government to revamp teacher education is a positive step, but more needs to be done to address the province’s teacher shortage.

“We’re glad to see a more efficient pathway for teacher education, but we can’t stop here,” said Pasma. “Just days ago, we learned over 600 teachers are being cut from the Toronto District School Board, by Minister Calandra’s hand-picked supervisor.

“The Ford government contradicts itself at every turn. How do they reconcile efforts to bring in more teachers with cutting the ones we already have?

“More than 45,000 qualified teachers in our province are choosing not to work in our education system right now. Until the Ford government is prepared to address the working conditions in our schools with proper funding, training more teachers will be like filling a leaky bucket without plugging the hole.

“$750 gift cards don’t cut it. The Conservatives need to restore funding so our schools can hire and retain more qualified teachers, and they need to bring back locally accountable elected trustees to give parents transparency.”