The short programs leading to teaching certificates provide “added value” for teachers, estimates Education Minister Bernard Drainville’s office, adding that universities are “resistant to change.”
Posted at 12:53 p.m.
Quebec is responding to comments made Friday in La Presse by the deans of the faculties of education at the University of Montreal and the University of Laval. Ahlem Ammar and Anabelle Viau-Guay.
Both have closed the door on offering a 30-credit course leading to a teaching certificate, a solution proposed by the education minister to train more teachers more quickly.
“There will always be resistance to change,” reacted Florence Plourde, Bernard Drainville’s press secretary, on Friday.
“Universities such as TÉLUQ, the University of Sherbrooke or UQAT have already implemented short programs, particularly 30-credit programs,” she adds.
The number of teachers who do not have a teaching certificate is increasing in the province's schools. These so-called “unlegally qualified” teachers often have a high school diploma in another subject but must return to university to obtain their certificate.
Bill 23 on education reform, passed in December, now allows students who have acquired 30 credits in the second cycle, instead of the usual 60 credits for the qualifying master's degree, access to the patent. These shortened training courses met with strong criticism from teachers' unions, but also from student teaching associations.
“These short programs end with a trial internship and produce teachers with proven competence. In addition, most of the students enrolled in these courses are already teaching in class, but without a certificate. These qualifying training courses bring added value for teaching staff and help alleviate the shortage,” writes Florence Plourde.