Schools now 32 teachers short after 132 without education degrees step in

New Brunswick's anglophone schools are now operating 32 teachers short after 132 people — without education degrees — have stepped in to help fill the gap. 

New Brunswick Teachers' Association president Peter Lagacy said on Wednesday that's the total from three of four anglophone districts. 

Last year there were 181 local-permit contracts across all four districts in the anglophone system.

Lagacy says the association appreciates the work of those in classrooms through local-permit contracts, where a teaching degree is not required, but he also worries the province is too reliant on them.

NBTA president calls for ‘new pathways’ to ease teacher certification

3 months ago

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More than 130 community members have stepped up this school year to teach with a local teacher's permit. Peter Lagacy, president of the New Brunswick Teachers' Association, would like to see them become permanent teachers and obtain certification.

"We commend these folks for stepping up, now the government must do their part," he said at a news conference. 

"We think about hiring those without an education degree, I would hate to see that become the norm, an accepted practice in the province."

Lagacy wants to see reforms to the teacher certification process, which he believes would help local-permit teachers more easily transition into proper accreditation. 

"Right now the process to be a teacher in the province, the certification requirements are fairly rigid," Lagacy said.

"We're not looking to reduce standards or de-professionalize the profession. It's more about providing flexibility for some of those pathways."

He says that input from universities will be needed to find out what those other pathways might look like. 

"How do we make it more flexible than a four-year B.Ed. plus a one year, 11-month intensive? Are there other ways that we can do that?" Lagacy said. 

CBC News sought comment from the Department of Education, which deferred questions to the Premier's Office. That's because a statement issued by the NBTA Thursday references "an upcoming election" and a need for "political commitments."

 However, the Premier's Office did not provide a response on Thursday.

Ahead of the provincial election, Lagacy says he wants to see investments into the system to close the human resource gap with teachers, but also to address shortfalls with bus drivers and educational assistants. 

The association has previously said it anticipates more than 1,000 of its 6,500 members will retire out of the system over the next five years.