Quebec’s Education System Continues to Struggle Despite Efforts to Improve Shortages

Lately, Karine Boudreau has been considering the idea of resigning. Throughout her 18-year career as a school psychologist, the notion of pursuing something else never occurred to her.

However, in the last four years, she has felt overwhelmed to the point where she cannot adequately support the students’ needs.

“The joy in my work is becoming harder to locate. The workload has significantly increased,” she expressed. “Should I continue? Will I be able to complete my career in this environment? It’s something I contemplate.”

With students across Quebec preparing to return to school next week, the province is facing a persistent shortage of staff: more than 3,800 teaching positions are still vacant as of Wednesday.

But the scarcity isn’t just limited to teachers. Special education technicians, daycare workers, psychologists, and speech therapists are also in short supply. Despite the Quebec government’s efforts to address the issue, staff and their unions argue that the problem will persist until schools become attractive workplaces once more.

This academic year, Boudreau will be serving two high schools in Drummondville, Que., a town situated between Montreal and Quebec City with a population of around 80,000. One of the schools has been without a school psychologist for the past three years. She will only be available one day a week, and she is concerned that she may not be able to meet the diverse needs of the students, which include anxiety, eating disorders, learning difficulties, and autism.

This is a significant shift from her early days in the profession. At that time, she could work full-time at one school. However, presently, elementary school psychologists in her district often serve multiple schools, ranging from six to seven.

Boudreau noted that the student population in Drummondville has increased over the years, partially due to immigration, yet the number of support staff has not kept up. Consequently, urgent cases receive attention while students with less immediate needs end up on waiting lists, sometimes for several months.

“As a professional, I don’t feel as effective as I’d like to be, or able to follow through on everything I envision,” she added.

Boudreau is not alone in her sentiments. Jacques Landry, president of the Quebec federation for education professionals, revealed that a survey last year discovered that 40 percent of professionals in the education system—including psychologists, counselors, and speech therapists—were contemplating leaving. “That’s a significant number,” he stated.

Landry estimates that there are 1,500 to 2,000 vacant positions for professionals throughout the province as the new school year approaches. Additionally, the federation for school support staff reports over 3,450 empty spots for daycare workers and more than 1,200 unfilled positions for special education technicians.

In addition to the 3,800 teaching positions that Education Minister Bernard Drainville stated have yet to be filled, there has been an influx of 20,000 new students in Quebec schools this fall, partly due to immigration, further straining the system. “The objective is to have a teacher in every class at the start of the school year,” he emphasized.

To address the shortage, the province has enlisted non-legally qualified teachers and implemented a fast-track program with 30 credits to expedite the certification of new teachers. The exact number of uncertified teachers expected in classrooms this year remains unspecified by Drainville.

Jonathan Keane, a visual arts teacher at Beaconsfield High School in Montreal, disclosed his experiences at schools struggling to fill teaching positions, resulting in a revolving door of different instructors teaching the same classes. He also highlighted the common occurrence of full-time teachers substituting for absent colleagues due to the unavailability of substitutes.

“It’s challenging for students because they lack consistency,” Keane remarked. “They enter the classroom not knowing who will be teaching and what to expect.”

Keane, who has been teaching for 13 years, noted a shift from teachers accepting any available positions when he began his career. At present, he knows only three out of 20 classmates who are still teaching.

According to Keane, for the government to address the shortage, teachers need increased compensation and improved working conditions. “It requires a unique individual to want to become a teacher,” he said. “But those individuals exist, and we see them entering but not remaining in the profession.”

During a four-week teachers’ strike last winter that led to the closure of approximately 800 schools in Quebec, an agreement was reached, resulting in a 17.4-percent pay raise over five years. Nicolas Prévost, president of the Quebec federation of educational institutions, believes this deal will ultimately enhance the appeal of teaching.

“The impact of this won’t be immediate,” Prévost emphasized. “We’ll see it three or four years down the line.”

Currently, even principals find themselves stepping in to teach classes when teachers are absent due to illness. In some schools, nearly half the staff is not legally qualified, and they lack adequate supervision, creating challenges in delivering services to students. “They require support which we struggle to provide,” Prévost stated. “This certainly affects the quality of service offered to students.”

Reflecting on her career in Drummondville, Boudreau expressed her enduring love for working in the education system and her reluctance to seek opportunities elsewhere. However, her satisfaction has waned over time. “It’s becoming less fulfilling,” she shared. “Admittedly, at times, I struggle to reignite that passion.”