The education network in Quebec is currently short of 8558 teachers, according to the latest figures revealed today by the province's Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville.

Drainville explained to reporters that by last week, the shortage had reached 1859 permanent teachers, that is, full-time, and that the vacancies currently affect all employment sectors in the Quebec education network.

As for part-time teachers, the shortage amounts to 6699 teachers.

"At the same time last year, we were short 5335 teachers (924 full-time and 4411 part-time)," added the Minister of Education, but he clarified that in 2022, only 57 school service centers out of 72 provided the relevant data to the ministry.

This year, all the school service centers except for one reported their vacancies to the ministry, which gives a more accurate picture of the situation, Minister Drainville confirmed.

The Quebec Minister of Education issued a call to those holding a bachelor's degree in mathematics, chemistry, geography, French, history, or other related fields to try a teaching career.

This shortage made Minister Drainville acknowledge last week that the priority is no longer to ensure that there is a teacher in every classroom, but rather to guarantee that there is at least one adult in the room, "with a bachelor's degree if possible."

After reminding that many measures and incentives have been put in place to recruit new teachers (such as a 14% salary increase and a scholarship of $20,000 for students who major in education, for example), Minister Drainville called on individuals holding a bachelor's degree in mathematics, chemistry, geography, French, history, or other related fields to try a teaching career.

"You can become a teacher without a degree, but if you have a desire to teach (...) you can enroll in a program consisting of 30 credit hours and obtain a degree in education," added the Quebec Minister of Education.

Drainville also invited retired teachers who wish to return to the teaching profession to lend a helping hand in schools.

For parents who wonder whether their children will find themselves in classrooms without a teacher this school year starting next week, Minister Drainville stated that school service centers are "working hard" to fill the vacant positions by the beginning of the school year.

In response to reporters' questions about the possibility of some classrooms remaining closed next week due to the significant shortage of teachers, the minister answered with "no."