Quebec public schools: 4,880 teachers have resigned in the past five years

The picture of teacher resignations is getting clearer: 4,880 regular teachers resigned from permanent posts in the last five years.

From 2018-2019 to 2022-2023, the number of resignations increased by 76%, while the total number of regular teachers increased by 7%.

Of the nearly 70,000 regular teachers, the resignation rate stands at 1.8%, up slightly over the past five years (see details below).

However, it is impossible to know the proportion of teachers who actually leave the school network.

This is the first report compiled by the Ministry of Education using data from all school service centres News magazine Pursuing a request for access to information.

These figures include only permanent teachers excluding contract teachers and substitutes.

“This is important data because we're talking about people who have more job stability. It's a little disturbing,” said Nicolas Prévost, president of the Quebec Federation of Educational Institution Directors.

First full assessment

In past years, News magazine In some cases it has published data on teacher resignations, but these are partial reports based on statistics provided by the majority of school service centers and not all.

However, the ministry does not have any data on the reasons that led to these departures. Not all teachers who resign necessarily leave teaching. Some may have resigned to work at another nearby service center or follow a move, which is common during a pandemic.

However, tenured teachers are less likely to change employers, emphasized Genevieve Sirois, professor of educational administration at TÉLUQ, because a tenured teacher is at the bottom of the seniority list if he or she resigns. Another service center.

“It confirms what we've heard from the community, that teachers are tired and many are considering leaving the profession,” M said.^me Sirois.

The increase in resignations comes in the context of teachers being granted salary increases starting in 2020, recalls Nicolas Prevost.

“It shows that it's tied to the workload,” he said.

Quebec, which relies heavily on hiring new teachers to deal with shortages, must do more to retain them, M adds^me Sirois.

The Ministry of Education issues about 3,000 teaching certificates to new teachers every year, but about a thousand regular teachers leave the school network every year, she pointed out.

Make career more attractive

In the office of Education Minister Bernard Drainville, we noted that the climate of the past five years “has not always been favorable” for retaining teachers in the school network, especially due to the pandemic.

The minister is banking on a new collective agreement, which includes significant pay rises and added class support to “make the profession more attractive”.

“It is certain that we are not satisfied with these figures (…) We have launched a major recovery operation and let's be realistic, it will take time to reverse the trend,” confirmed its press officer Antoine de la Durantaye.

* Number of regular teacher resignations in Quebec public schools

• 2018-2019: 713
• 2019-2020: 792
• 2020-2021: 906
• 2021-2022: 1213
• 2022-2023: 1258
• Total: 4882

(+76% over five years)

Total number of regular teachers: 69,351

(+7% for five years)

Resignation rate: 1.1% to 1.8% over five years

*These figures include teachers with permanent positions, but exclude contract teachers and substitutes

Source: Ministry of Education