SASKATOON – A lack of transparency, poor public engagement, and incomprehensible procedures were just some of the findings in a new report on the regulation of Saskatchewan teachers.
The 103-page, government-contracted report, titled “For the Sake of the Students”, was written by Dr. Dennis Kendel. It recommends introducing a separate disciplinary body for teachers.
“It’s been extremely difficult for the public and the public media to hear about the regulatory process itself, and the outcome, particularly from discipline hearings,” said Dr. Kendel.
“Most professional regulatory bodies have public members on their governing body, and that’s not something that exists at the moment in teacher regulations,” he explained.
Currently, the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation is committed to collective bargaining for teachers.
Dr. Kendel said this leads to a conflict of interest when it comes to dealing with complaints of teacher misconduct. He says a separate, disciplinary body is needed.
Gwen Dueck, Executive Director for the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation, said the report lacks critical analysis and scope.
“Discipline is one small aspect of the regulatory structure…a regulatory structure also includes the certification processes as well as education and professional development processes,” said Dueck.
Dueck said despite the federation’s disappointment in the report, it would consider the idea of having a disciplinary body.
“An examination of a separate body is part of that analysis that we would want to do,” she said.
The report comes on the heels of the teachers’ rejection of the proposed tentative provincial collective bargaining agreement this week. While the timing of the report’s release seems curious, the government said it was planned.
“We didn’t want this to be a factor in ratification so we decided to wait,” said Education Minister Don Morgan.
In the meantime, the minister said government officials will be immediately working with the STF to work on a new teacher regulation model.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Education says it’s using the report as a starting point for new legislation, to be introduced in the fall of next year.
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