Ontario is proposing to allow teachers without technological credentials to teach certain tech courses for the next school year.
It's a move teachers and principals suggest indicates the province is ill-prepared for the new mandatory nature of those classes.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced last year that starting in September 2024, high school students will have to take a course on technology and the skilled trades in Grade 9 or 10 in order to graduate.
But the government is now ``exploring options'' to let principals assign teachers with general education qualifications, who may not have tech qualifications, to teach those courses for the next year.
The president of the Ontario Principals Council says there is already a shortage of teachers, and tech-specific teachers, even before adding in new mandatory requirements for students to take those courses.
Ralph Nigro says he supports the introduction of the courses, but more steps should have been taken to ensure their success.
Non-tech teachers would to have to agree to be assigned to those classes, but the president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation says that some may agree even if they don't feel comfortable because they want to get out of supply teaching.