Bridgewater, NS, Canada / CKBW
May 22, 2021 | 3:28 PM
The Nova Scotia Teachers Union is disappointed students and teachers won’t be heading back to classrooms, but they understand the situation.
NSTU President, Paul Wozney says throughout the year they have raised concerns over the lack of protection offered at schools.
He says the provincial government was left with little choice this third wave as it is impacting young people at a much higher rate.
“There’s over 890 child of youth COVID-19 cases connected to the third wave, so clearly this version of the virus that we are dealing with disproportionately impacts kids and youth,” said Wozney.”It was the right call to make, to make sure everybody stays safe.”
HALIFAX, N.S. Students in Nova Scotia are finishing the 2021 school year the same way they did last year. On Wednesday, Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin announced all schools in the province will remain closed for the rest of the school year. To the students, I know that s difficult that you won t be able to go back in person and see your friends, Rankin said. It’s a decision some parents are saying came too soon. “I feel they should have waited another week to be honest, because the numbers are getting really, really good,” said Rob Frederick, a single parent of two young girls.
Education officials in the Halifax area are downplaying concerns by the teachers' union that staffing plans for September amount to cuts, reassuring educators there will be no change to services for students.
Increased Funding and Supports for Students, Op-ed
NOTE: The following is an op-ed from Derek Mombourquette, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development
Over the last few days, there have been reports about school staffing for next September that are not accurate and I want to correct the record:
no teacher is losing their job; in fact, there will be at least 70 new teachers hired
across the province, more than 260 new school staff – psychologists, education assistants, guidance counsellors, autism support staff and more – are being hired to support students in the classroom
overall, the provincial education budget will rise by $112 million, including $15 million more for inclusive education