Educators Call on NDP to Reverse Decision to Lower Teacher Training Standards
WINNIPEG — Progressive Conservatives join with post-secondary educators who are calling on the NDP government to immediately reverse its decision to lower training standards for teachers in Manitoba.
News broke by the media this Monday that Wab Kinew’s NDP are no longer requiring Manitoba teachers to learn basic subjects during their post-secondary careers prior to teaching them in K-8 classrooms. This decision, made behind closed doors without public notice, makes Manitoba’s teacher qualification requirements the weakest in Canada.
“Students deserve a world-class education, and families expect teachers who are well-equipped to teach basic subjects like English, math, and science,” said Spruce Woods MLA Grant Jackson, PC Critic for Education. “The NDP’s decision moves Manitoba in the opposite direction, risking the future of our children’s education.”
Other provinces, such as Ontario, have recently strengthened their standards by implementing a math proficiency test for teachers.
“Lowering standards is not a reasonable solution to addressing a teacher shortage,” said Dr. Anna Stokke, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Winnipeg, who helped to implement additional teaching requirements under the last NDP government. “As for the claim that it will reduce barriers for people wanting to enter the teaching profession, what about the barriers that weak math teachers will create for children? Shouldn’t their right to a strong math education be most important?”
The NDP are showing a troubling trend of lowering professional standards, added Jackson, noting that the NDP removed anatomy and physiology course requirements for paramedics earlier this year.
“Once again, the NDP have chosen to lower standards, disrespecting the professions that Manitobans rely on,” said Jackson. “Lowering standards won’t solve the challenges facing the education system. Instead, the government should address real issues like class sizes, classroom supports, and incentives to recruit more teachers.”
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