Teachers not being asked to prepare additional work for absent students, education minister says

Becky Druhan’s comments come after a memo sent out over the weekend caused some confusion over whether or not teachers were being asked to prepare additional work for absent students

CITYnews halifax \ Chris Halef

Listen to this article

The province says it is not asking teachers to do additional work after a memo sent out over the weekend stirred up confusion.

The memo was sent out on Saturday, asking teachers to make work available for students who are absent.

This prompted some to question whether or not teachers were being asked to prepare additional materials or if the province was introducing a hybrid learning model.

But in an emailed statement, Education Minister Becky Druhan told CityNews Halifax that is not the case.

“The overall goal of the memo was to ensure consistency across the province in ensuring that all students who are absent from school have access to learning materials and assignments,” Druhan said. “Making work available for students who are absent (for illness for example) is a long-standing and well-established practice.”

She said the purpose behind the memo was to ensure teachers were not surprised on Monday and to allow them time to ensure access to learning for all students.

“We know that we cannot replicate the rich school experience that kids experience when they come to school,” said Druhan. “But we want to support the habit of life-long learning by ensuring access to learning, even when children are not in school.”

Students returned to in-person learning on Jan. 17 after taking an extended holiday break due to surging cases of Omicron.