The new poll conducted by Praxis Analytics, found that Saskatchewan’s education sector is generally regarded as one of the most important public services in the province.
The poll was commissioned by the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation (STF). The STF alternates internal and external perception polling each year.
Praxis asked 988 people from across Saskatchewan to rate the importance to the quality of life for a variety of public services on a scale of one to five. The poll was conducted in February 2018.
Health care received the highest average score at 4.63, education scored second with 4.44, social services picked up 3.94 and justice rounded out the field with an average score of 3.87.
When asked who people thought were best suited to make decisions in the education sector, classroom teachers received the highest overall mark with 4.06. They were followed by principals and vice-principals, university professors, superintendents, Ministry of Education program directors, elected school board trustees and finally the education minister with a score of 2.88.
“I think these survey results send two clear messages to our political leaders,” STF president Patrick Maze said.
“The first message is that teachers are highly trusted when it comes to making important decisions about the delivery of services to our children. The second message is that when you take $54 million out of the classrooms and create a situation where there are fewer teachers and fewer supports to look after more students, people will notice.”
Premier Scott Moe campaigned on adding $30 million to school division budgets in the 2018-19 fiscal year, and announced that plan will come to fruition in the April 10 provincial budget shortly after his election.
READ MORE: New Saskatchewan premier boosts classroom funding by $7.5 million
An extra $7.5 million was added to school division budgets in that same announcement for the remainder of the 2017-18 school year.
When survey respondents were asked about overall job performance for a variety of public servants teachers placed third. Nurses took the top spot, closely followed by pharmacists.
The poll is considered accurate within a plus or minus 3.1 per cent margin of error, with a 95 per cent confidence level.
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