Post-secondary faculty leaders express support for Sask. teachers
CBC
Faculty leaders at Saskatchewan Polytechnic and the province's two universities say they support teachers during their ongoing job action.
The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) has been engaging in rotating strikes and withdrawals of voluntary duties since mid-January, after bargaining on a new collective agreement came to a standstill.
Post-secondary faculty leaders said on Monday that all "levels of education delivery are in crisis" because they have to contend with ineffective and unpredictable funding from the provincial government.
University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association chairperson Geraldine Balzer said her association supports the STF.
"The chronic lack of priority for education puts Saskatchewan kids at a disadvantage, from elementary school to post-secondary institutions, and to the workforce both in this province and on the world stage," Balzer said.
The presidents of the University of Regina and Saskatchewan Polytechnic faculty associations had similar messages on how providing sustainable funding to Saskatchewan's education sector will set up the province for future prosperity and economic success.
"We're seeing a vast failure of imagination from this government," said Britt Hall, the University of Regina Faculty Association's president.
"Saskatchewan could have the world's best public education system, with meaningful investments at every level, that not only support the students we have but also attract learners from across the world to study, research and contribute here."
Teachers across Saskatchewan are refraining from running extracurricular activities Monday through Wednesday this week as part of the federation's latest round of sanctions.
The provincewide extracurricular withdrawal means teachers will not provide voluntary services involved in the organization, supervision and facilitation of activities including athletics, non-curricular arts, field trips, student travel, graduation preparations, school clubs and other activities.
Teachers are also withdrawing from noon-hour supervision on Monday and Thursday in certain areas of the province.
On Monday the affected school divisions are the following:
On Thursday, another set of school divisions will see teachers withdraw from noon-hour supervision:
STF president Samantha Becotte said teachers don't want to continue job action but remain steadfast that measures to address class size and complexity must be part of the provincial collective agreement.
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