B.C. announces nearly $900K to train over 100 new teachers, but union says more is needed

The B.C. government has announced almost $900,000 to train 130 new teachers.

But the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) said that’s still not enough to solve the crisis that the province’s education system is facing.

Coverage of teachers on Globalnews.ca:

1:44 B.C. teachers now have a good chance to work closer to where they live

• B.C. teachers now have a good chance to work closer to where they live
• School year begins with teacher vacancies
• School districts struggling to hire teachers
• New hirings may lead to shortage of on-call teachers
• Province strikes deal with teachers

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On Friday, the B.C. Ministry of Education said in a news release it would contribute $571,000 to create 100 new spaces in teacher education programs over the coming two years.

Those spaces will be filled by students who will train in areas such as the French language, special education and secondary math and physics.

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There will be 92 new spaces in September 2018 and 15 in January 2019.

READ MORE: Parents group calls on education minister to bring more French teachers into B.C. schools

The ministry also announced funding of $260,000 that will help UBC teach about 20 students in its Indigenous Teacher Education Program in Williams Lake and Quesnel.

The money will help the province meet a demand for teachers in various areas — and that demand is high, said Wendy Carr, associate dean in UBC’s Teacher Education Program.

“What we found… is that our graduates are being hired during the final practicum, right after the practicum, before they had finished their program” she told Global News.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "What we found… is that our graduates are being hired during the final practicum, right after the practicum, before they had finished their program" she told Global News.

The BCTF welcomed the funding, but it doesn’t think the move will do enough to fill the open spaces in B.C.’s educational system.

School districts have gone on a hiring spree after a Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decision that restored staffing to pre-2002 levels.

BCTF president Glen Hansman said teachers need higher starting salaries and relocation incentives.

“If you’ve got a student loan to pay off and you’re potentially earning $20,000 less per year, why would you be coming to Vancouver where you can’t find a place to live?” he asked.

B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming said the province is in discussions about matters such as those, but he said filling open spaces is about addressing a “generational shortage.”