A new school year has renewed concerns about the safety of students and staff in our schools.
The NDP and education unions call for an emergency plan to end school violence.
Education critic Chandra Pasma says it is hurting the education of all children.
“It is harming the education of all our children. It is putting kids and workers in unsafe situations, and it is costing us, our qualified, caring, committed education workers and teachers, the backbone of our education system,” says Pasma.
Pasma proposes a plan that includes the hiring of additional qualified staff, including mental health professionals, education assistants, child and youth workers and others, and adequate training.
She also wants to see changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act that identifies a sector-specific regulation for education and a tripartite health and safety working group that reviews and establishes workplace violence policies.
Pasma also requests an online reporting system to track violent incidents to determine the full scope of the problem.
“Things have not changed since last June and things are getting worse every day. Teachers are facing a lot of violence. A lot of our children don’t have any such supports, and a child who is not supported is a frustrated child. Sometimes these children act with violence. This is not the problem. It’s not the child, it’s the lack of support,” says Pasma.
Monica Mello Mansinh, an education assistant, says she has seen a massive increase in students needing support since students returned to classes following the pandemic.
“With the continued budget cuts and lack of staffing, many of these students are not getting the supports they need, which is leading to the number of violent incidences that are occurring,” says Mello Mansinh.
“The injuries that we are facing as educational workers are not only physical but mental, and in most cases, life-changing.”
She says the only way for the system to improve is appropriate funding that leads to more qualified people in the classroom and specialized programming that helps students.
