Number of unqualified teachers in Nunavut classrooms nearly doubles in 5 years

Nunavut's education minister David Akyagok says he's not concerned about the number of unqualified teachers in classrooms. There's over 800 of them and 93 is a small number of the percentage and it's reflective of the need for us to make sure the school operates. Those 93 teachers work under what are called letters of authority. These are issued for a one-year term by the Department of Education when a position can't be filled by a qualified teacher with an education degree or equivalent. And in five years, the number of teachers who are with these letters have nearly doubled in Nunavut, from about 50 in 2021 to now over 90 in the 2025-26 school year. Nunavut Teachers Association President Justin Matchett disagrees with Akyakuk's assessment. That's 10% of our membership is unqualified. So it is a concern of ours. We rely heavily on these unqualified teachers, on the letter of authority teachers. Thank you very much. We can't operate the schools without them. Akyagok attributes the growth to the teacher shortage across the country. He argues Nunavut Arctic College's education program has been training many local teachers in communities, with some letter of authority teachers now getting certified. Our department is very committed in ensuring that we get qualified teachers. When that doesn't happen, we need to resort to letters of authority. Matchett argues the shortage of qualified teachers has been going on too long. Ultimately, he says this is about the children and the quality of education they are getting. As a parent, if I know that one grade three that my daughter's in has an unqualified teacher and the other... Class has a qualified teacher, I'd be concerned about the level of education getting. Right now, Akyagok says letter of authority teachers are undergoing training sessions with another one planned for the new year. Bianca McEwen, CBC News, Iqaluit.