Teaching resources stretched too thin: BCTF

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Kids in BC aren’t getting the teacher support they need, according to the BC Teachers’ Federation.

The Federation’s president says they don’t have enough staff to deal with an increase in the number of special needs students.

There are now over 16,000 classrooms in the province with more than four special needs students which is stretching resources thin.

And that’s not the only problem.

“What we’ve seen is a dramatic decline in the number of learning specialist teachers, in particular learning assistance teachers and special education resource teachers,” says Jim Iker.

He says that puts pressure on current teachers to make sure students get proper instruction.

“We’re not going to be able to meet the needs of all our students the way we would like to which is important.”

Iker says it all comes down to funding.

“This government underfunds to the tune right now of almost $1,000 per student less than the Canadian average.”

He says BC also has the worst student-educator ratio in Canada.

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