Education | The composition of the INEE CA raises criticism

The presence of a single teacher as well as the absence of school management and members of school support staff within the board of directors of the National Institute of Excellence in Education (INEE) raises criticism within the network, noted Duty.

Last week, the Minister of Education, Sonia LeBel, revealed all the members of the INEE board of directors, led since last July by the former general director of the School Service Center (CSS) of Chênes, in Drummondville, Lucien Maltais.

The state company will thus be able to proceed, “as a priority”, to the adoption of a budget and a workforce plan, indicates to the Duty his communications advisor, Patricia Faucher. Only then will the organization be able to fully fulfill the mandate given to it by Quebec, which is in particular to target the best practices to be implemented in the province’s schools in order to improve the academic success of students and the training of teachers.

“The INEE team is busy starting the work of the CA and planning the dates of the sessions with its members,” adds M^me Mowing. Mr. Maltais’ salary currently amounts to $209,651.

Deception and anxiety

The composition of this board of directors of 13 members, 2 of whom are management consultants in private practice, is however far from unanimous in the school network. Because even if three members of professional staff and a parent are among those appointed, this body will only be able to count on the advice of a single teacher, in adult education.

“When we saw the composition of the board, we were extremely disappointed, but also very concerned,” indicates the vice-president for professional life at the Autonomous Federation of Education, Annie-Christine Tardif, which reminds us that the reality of adult education teachers is not the same as that of those who work in preschool, primary and secondary education. A reality which will therefore be difficult to take into account by the INEE in formulating its recommendations concerning the school network, she fears.

“It’s incomprehensible that there are so few teachers on the board of directors,” adds the president of the Federation of Education Unions, Richard Bergevin. Especially, he emphasizes, that the government intends to ask the INEE to ensure that training mandatory teacher requirements that it introduced in 2021 are up to date, which will be difficult to do without relying on the “pedagogical expertise” of several teachers.

“If we are to talk about compulsory teacher training, the least we can do is put teachers in the spotlight at the board of directors’ table so that they are able to make judicious decisions,” he argues. Otherwise, “it’s a lack of respect for the teaching profession.”

Annie-Christine Tardif questions the “credibility”, in this context, that teachers will give to the recommendations that the INEE will formulate. “And that’s quite worrying,” she notes.

« Alimenter le cynisme »

Quebec teacher Sylvain Dancause deplores the absence of school principals and members of school support staff, including special education technicians, on the INEE board of directors.

“It just once again fuels cynicism, fuels a little people’s fear of having another approach imposed on them. top-down» in the education network by people “who are completely disconnected” from the reality on the ground, says the teacher.

The latter doubts, in this context, the quality of the opinions that will be produced by INEE. “We are not going to revolutionize teaching with this,” believes Mr. Dancause, who does not hesitate to describe the state company as a “big mirage” which to date has not been able to prove its capacity to help resolve the numerous crises affecting the Quebec education network.

By email, the communications advisor of the state corporation simply stated that the composition of this board of directors respects the criteria included in the Act respecting the National Institute of Excellence in Education as well as in the Corporation Governance Act of State.