Ontario teachers’ college experiencing delay granting license approvals

As unions warn of a teacher shortage in Ontario, the regulating body that certifies these educators said it’s experiencing higher than normal volumes, causing a delay on certifying teachers to fill much needed positions.

Janine Reid, who has been a teacher herself for over two decades, says it took her son almost nine months to receive his license.

She spoke with CityNews for him as they both fear he would be blackballed for speaking on the issue. Her son first applied in April of 2021 and wasn’t certified until January of this year.

Reid said it wasn’t just the delay that was concerning, but the lack of communication during the wait time. “I asked him how many times he called the office, and he was able to count 17 times without anybody answering … he would wait on hold over an hour [but then] he would say ‘Enough is enough.’,” said Reid.

She adds there were no issues with his application and all the fees required were paid and received. She also explains that he was not a new teacher, having been educated on the east coast and working there after graduation. “I can’t imagine what the process would be for someone who hasn’t been in the system.”

“When you’re looking at the classroom, and the vulnerability of our students, you’re going to see that we need to have continuity in our classrooms, rather than just people coming in and out.” said Janine. “So I really feel sorry for the individuals who have to go through the process.”

Teachers’ unions say the delay was flagged almost months ago and there has been no resolution in sight. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation said this has left many applicants either working precarious teaching jobs or in positions that they’re overqualified for.

“So we have people who are fully qualified but are being paid at an unqualified rate and also do not have ability to fill in and get permanent jobs,” said Karen Littlewood, President of OSSTF. “So that has long term ramifications too. If they decide to get a job elsewhere, obviously we’ve lost a teacher or two or 100 in the system.”

The Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) confirmed to CityNews they are dealing with delays in approving new applications, but they are actively working to try and return to normal service levels.

OCT says the typical wait time to receive approval once all documents have been submitted is currently 120 days or nearly four months. They did not share how long it is currently taking for an application to get approved.

While the pandemic has contributed to higher than normal volume levels, OCT also said in the last three years, the college registration requirements have undergone more changes than in the previous 15 years combined.

“Recent amendments to our process include the new sexual abuse prevention program, the extended and expanded Temporary Certificate program and the Math Proficiency Test. These changes have added to the regular ongoing work of reviewing and assessing all applications for licensure, including doubling the documents received, which in turn, increased certification timelines and processes.”

In 2020, 6,435 applications were received by the college and 5,825 certificates were granted, similar levels to what was approved in previous years. Information was not available for 2021 at this point.

“We’re told, well, sometimes some of it is COVID … [OCT has said] ‘There’s huge numbers so we’re unable to process them,’ but I don’t think it’s acceptable to have people who graduated in April, still waiting for that paperwork in February,” said Littlewood

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario added it’s not only licenses that are being held up, but additional qualifications.

“We don’t have the exact numbers, but we know it’s a significant amount of members.”

“This is something that’s contributing to the certification and the qualifications for certain job positions. And for members, [it affects their] mobility, the ability to apply for certain things,” said ETFO president Karen Brown. “They’re being passed over for opportunities because there’s been such a change in wait time.”

When asked if she knew how many teachers were affected by the delay, Brown said, “We don’t have the exact numbers, but we know it’s a significant amount of members.”

Unions have been warning of a teacher shortage and the school boards also say they are having great difficulty finding supply teachers to fill these. Littlewood said they are concerned about the impact on these students as well. “So the immediate concern is boards who are looking to hire unqualified people to fill in those jobs. So, people get the high school diploma and a police record check. And then that’s it.”

Reid shared that once her son was approved, he was able to get a job right away. “Teaching jobs are out there but you just need to have the paperwork from OCT.”