N.S. Teachers Union says system stretched by recent enrollment explosion

By CityNews Halifax Staff

The union representing teachers in the province says the Houston government needs to act in order to keep up with the skyrocketing influx of students in Nova Scotia.

According to the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE), enrolment has jumped by more than 1,000 students since September 30, 2022.

Figures also show that in the last five years, enrolment has increased by 7,733 students with nearly 58,000 students now currently enrolled in the HRCE.

Nova Scotia Teachers Union president Ryan Lutes says the number of substitute teachers in the system is lagging far behind that figure.

Lutes tells CityNews Halifax that a robust teacher recruitment and retention strategy is needed in order to keep pace.

“We need to make the profession attractive for folks,” he says. “And it has to be a plan that takes the working conditions of teachers into consideration.”

He says that includes setting competitive salaries and allocating resources, adding that a complaint he often hears from teachers is that the job is simply not “sustainable.”

He says the province has made headway when it comes to physical infrastructure but government has been slow acting when it comes to human resources matters, such as recruiting teachers.

The lack of substitute teachers, he says, is creating immense pressure on the system.