Quebec is looking for 800 retired teachers to do substitute work

Quebec hopes to convince around 800 young retired teachers to resume service in schools where the lack of substitutes is glaring by putting in place financial incentives.

• Read also: “I contribute” for education: Minister Jean-François Roberge open

• Read also: All the developments of the pandemic

This is the “flagship measure of the start of the new school year” to fight against the shortage of teachers exacerbated by the pandemic, indicates the Minister of Education Jean-François Roberge.

• Listen to journalist Alexandre Dubé with Benoit Dutrizac on QUB radio:

“We think it will make a significant difference,” he said in an interview with The newspaper, Tuesday.

The remuneration of ex-teachers will be nearly twice as high as usual during the first 20 days of supply, without penalty on pension benefits.

The 8,100 teachers who have retired since 1^er July 2015 will receive the same salary as when they left, from their first day of replacement. Until now, this compensation was only granted to them after 20 replacement days.

A retired teacher will now be able to receive a maximum of $ 412 per day, compared to $ 212 for the first 20 days of supply.

Mr. Roberge hopes that about 10% of retirees will answer the call by agreeing to do 10 to 20 days of supply during the school year.

“It pays off for retirees, it’s good for students who will have experienced teachers in front of them and it’s good for the entire network, because it will allow them to breathe a little,” said the Minister.

This measure does not apply to teachers who have been retired for more than five years, since people aged 70 and over are more likely to be more severely ill if they contract COVID-19.

In March 2019, Mr. Roberge appealed to former teachers to come and help the school network, promising to put in place measures so that they are not penalized financially by a return to work.

It took a year and a half before announcing this measure, more complex to put in place than it seemed, agreed Mr. Roberge.

The cost of this financial incentive could vary, depending on the response rate, from $ 3 million to $ 11 million.

There is currently a shortage of 117 full-time teachers in the school system, compared to 135 on September 30, 2019.

However, the need for substitutes is greater this year, recognizes Minister Roberge.

Listen to Veronique Hivon with Benoit Dutrizac on QUB radio:

“There are many places in Quebec where it is difficult to have substitutes when teachers have to be absent, especially when they have to make a preventive withdrawal” linked to COVID-19, he said. -he indicates.

The use of retired teachers to fight against the shortage of teachers in schools was the main request of the school network in order to face the shortage of teachers.

This measure was greeted with a sigh of relief in the school system. “This is excellent news, we are very satisfied,” says Nicolas Prévost, president of the Quebec Federation of educational institutions.

According to a survey of its members last week, 400 part-time teaching positions are still vacant.

Reactions are more mixed in the ranks of teachers’ unions. “It’s interesting, but the salary is not the only factor. Several teachers took early retirement because of working conditions, ”recalls the president of the Federation of Education Unions, Josée Scalabrini.

This measure also creates “two categories” of substitutes since the remuneration will not be the same for all, underlines Mr.^me Scalabrini.