Two years of the pandemic have disrupted the learning and development of Ontario’s elementary and secondary school students. In particular, households with lower incomes and fewer resources have been hit hard.
Bouncing back will require strong government resolve, new policies and the funding to back it up.
Ontario’s government must boost annual education investment by $4.3 billion a year to recover for lost time, according to Catching Up Together: A Plan for Ontario’s Schools.
Among 13 key recommendation, the reports calls for increasing teaching staff at all grade levels to allow for smaller class sizes, increasing pay rates for early childhood educators and eliminating mandatory e-learning and hybrid learning.
Public schools can be a great equalizer. Increasing funding is key to ensuring Ontario’s students succeed.
About the authors
Ricardo Tranjan directs the research program for the CCPA-Ontario, focusing on collaboration and movement building. Ricardo’s expertise centres on Ontario public finances and the political economy of social policy, especially public education funding, income support programs, and rental housing. He is a frequent commentator in the media and public speaker. In addition to regular op-eds in major news outlets and several policy analyses, Ricardo is the author of two books: Participatory Democracy in Brazil (2015), a scholarly analysis of his native country; and the national bestseller The Tenant Class (2023). Previously, Ricardo managed the City of Toronto’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Office and briefly taught at universities in Ontario and Quebec. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo’s Balsillie School of International Affairs and speaks English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
