Nearly 2,900 retired teachers returned as replacements in Quebec schools this year, a number four times higher than last year, data from shows The newspaper.
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As of Fall 2020, retired teachers who wish to return to substitute teaching can receive the maximum amount on their pay scale without suffering any deductions from their retirement pension.
This financial incentive was initially offered to teachers who left the network after July 2015, but was extended to all retirees in early 2022, regardless of their exit date.
This may partly explain why the number of retired teachers who have returned to teach has skyrocketed in a single year.
While more than 700 people returned to service in 2021-2022, that number rose from late December to nearly 2,900 in 2022-2023, according to the Department of Education.
The measure will be extended for the next school year, said the office of Education Minister Bernard Drainville.
Myopic management
However, these numbers show myopic management of the education network, says Micheline Germain, president of the Quebec Association of Retirees and Retirees from Education and Other Public Services (AREQ-CSQ).
“This may be good news for Quebec students, but we find it quite absurd that we need retirees to help run the school.” We have known for a long time that there will be a shortage of educational staff. “The aging of the population was predictable and heralded,” she says.
Ms Germain isn’t surprised that retirees are answering the call, given their sensitivity to the needs of students and the “heartaches” that come with staff shortages.
The teachers’ union federation, in turn, sees these figures as proof that the advice works.
“It’s very revealing. It shows that if we take the time to talk to each other and find solutions together, we can achieve concrete results,” says its President, Josée Scalabrini.
$12,000 bonus
The scenario looked very different, however, when a $12,000 bonus was announced in mid-May to encourage teachers eligible for retirement to stay on full-time for another year, according to the FSE. -CSQ.
Ms. Scalabrini saw it more as a PR campaign.
“They did it without talking to anyone, it was way too late and there was nothing interesting for the teachers,” she says.
As Education Secretary Bernard Drainville grapples with an unprecedented teacher shortage, he recently sent a letter to retired teachers urging them to come and help out at the start of the school year.
However, this “call for mutual aid” received a mixed response from teachers, at least judging by the comments circulating on social media.
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