The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) says with sweeping changes to the education system announced Friday, the province has “declared war on Ontario’s public education system.”
“OSSTF/FEESO’s response in defence of that system will be commensurate,” the union representing English public high school teachers said in a press release.
Among the changes announced March 15 are increasing class size caps by six students at the high school level and by one student at the Grade 4-8 level.
The changes also include new math and sex ed curriculums, banning cellphones in classrooms and revising teacher hiring practices.
A press release from the OSSTF called the changes “devastating,” adding “many of which will have a direct negative impact on OSSTF/FESSO members and the students they work with every day.”
Most significantly, the press release said, average class size ratios in secondary schools will rise from 22:1 to 28:1.