For Immediate Release
August 7, 2023
NL NDP Leader Jim Dinn, MHA for St. John’s Centre, is calling on government to improve public education by addressing long-standing teacher retention and recruitment issues in schools.
Today the province announced the removal of the 1.6km rule which will allow more students to ride publicly contracted school busses. Dinn says this is welcomed but calls it another one-off announcement that ignores priorities outlined by both the NLESD’s 2021-2022 report and the NLTA.
“Great! Now can we get onto the hard work required to improve public education that this government has been avoiding?
“Improvements to bus access for students is a welcomed announcement, but it is low hanging fruit. Government needs to take bold — “thinking outside the box” — steps and address challenges prioritized by the former NLESD, and the NLTA,” outlined Dinn.
“Both groups named staffing as the greatest challenge for public education,” said Dinn. “What we heard today was yet another announcement that isn’t part of a plan to improve public education.
“School communities are left worrying if schools will have a full roster of staff and trained counsellors by the fall,” said Dinn. “Education in this province deserves greater attention than what it’s been given by successive governments who have ignored the increasing difficulties with staffing.
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For further information, contact Eddy St. Coeur, Director of Communications at 709.729.2137