Government Seeks to Eliminate Teachers' Role in Decision-MakingBill 40 expresses the determination of successive governments to deny Quebec teachers any role in the establishment of new arrangements for governance in education even though teachers are those who have the expertise in the education of Quebec students and first-hand knowledge of the problems that need to be resolved. Bill 40 directly interferes with teachers' working conditions without their consent and without negotiations. In particular, it imposes continuing training for teachers and requires that the school director ensure "all teachers fulfill their continuing education obligation." The bill imposes unilaterally a new condition that teachers are expected to fulfill while those same teachers are right in the midst of negotiations for a new collective agreement.
Bill 40 pursues the denial of the rights of teachers to make decisions about the performance of their duties. The government is giving itself the right to decide according to its own agenda and to impose its decisions on teachers without their consent and even if they are opposed. Teachers also condemn the attacks on their dignity and the integrity of their work that Bill 40 represents. For example, one of the new powers of the Minister of Education is to "more easily obtain students' results on the examinations that the Minister imposes at the elementary and secondary levels, and communicate with school service centre employees and parents in the school network." The bill intensifies the pressure that is already being exerted on teachers. The law allows a school director in the name of academic success to modify students' results albeit in "consultation" with teachers. This perverts the evaluation of learning and the progress of students, and infringes upon the professional judgment of teachers and the quality of education, which cannot be reduced to exam results. The law also creates a "commitment-to-student-success committee" whose mandate is to examine the results of the students and "to promote, among the institutions of the school service centre, educational practices, including evaluation practices, that are based on research." According to this legislation, the performance of an individual teacher, and by extension the academic success of the students, is to be measured by the teacher's adoption of behaviours and practices that are prescribed by the government. This sidelines the collective working conditions of the teachers, for example class sizes, and the educator's training, experience and outlook in both teaching and the evaluation of students progress and what is needed to improve education generally. Teachers have been asking for over 15 years that class sizes be reduced so that they can work with and guide young people through their learning process. The government has steadily rejected all such demands for collective improvements in the conditions, and claims instead that the success of students depends on a teacher adopting the right behaviour and approach. This bill denies the rich experience and accumulated knowledge of teachers, which is reflected in their claims such as the importance of class size and the importance of having trained people in the class room to assist those with special needs and to have knowledgeable librarians and others capable of guiding students in their learning and research. The bill imposes conditions that are said to emanate from studies but teachers played no role in that research and were not even approached for their views, both individually and collectively. The results of the supposed research have nothing to with the direct experience of teachers and in fact contradict their experience and thought material on education and the needs of their students. Teachers, who are directly responsible for the education of the youth, are demanding respect with regard to the pedagogical approach society and the government adopt towards the youth and the direction of education generally.
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The
Autonomous Teachers' Federation (FAE), which is
very active in opposition to Bill 40, says that
all terms of employment must be negotiated. In
this regard, the FAE is considering filing a
legal challenge on the grounds that the
unilateral imposition of terms of employment is
unconstitutional. Terms of employment should be
the subject of negotiations under the Act
respecting collective bargaining in the sectors
of education, social affairs and government
agencies.