A release by the Saskatchewan NDP shows just how many teachers have been hired by the province over the last decade.

The data from the Education Sector Staffing Profile shows that 9,215.7 "regular classroom teaching" staff were employed in the 2014-15 school year, the furthest back the data goes, with that number reaching 9,486.8 during the 2023-24 school year.

Also released by the NDP were enrollment numbers for the province through a similar period of time, which showed enrollment had gone up by 22,034 students between the 2014-15 and 2023-24 school years.

That comes out to a difference of 271 more teachers between years to 22,034 students admitted, for a ratio of 81 new students for every rise in number of regular full-time teachers.

Adding other school-based assignments to that total brings the 2014-15 numbers to 11,581.5 and 2023-24 to 11,645.7, making the change 64 positions or 344 new students for every rise in school-based assignments.

NDP leader Carla Beck said that the province should be expanding resources to better suit the needs of students.

“I’ve heard from countless folks who’ve moved their families and businesses out of province because their kids aren’t getting the education they need here,” said Beck, “We owe it to our kids to set them up for success. They deserve more supports, not less.”

Saskatchewan Teacher's Federation President Samantha Becotte stated that the numbers prove what the teachers have been saying as they continue job action across the province.

“This further validates what teachers, students, and parents are saying about the reality of today’s classrooms. Students deserve better than this,” said Becotte, “Short-changing tomorrow’s workforce is extremely short-sighted, but Government can choose to fix these issues. It starts by addressing class size and complexity and guaranteeing long-term, sustainable education funding.”

The province's Ministry of Education provided the following statement:

Since 2016-17, the total number of classroom teachers has increased by nearly 120 FTEs. There were 9,477.2 FTEs in 2016-17 and there were 9,595.7 FTEs in 2023-24. There were 179,707 students in 2016-17 and there were 195,582 students in 2023-24.

Since 2007, we have increased school operating funding by $665 million, a 47 per cent increase, while enrolment has increased by just 16 per cent.

There were almost 4,500 educational assistants (EAs) working in Saskatchewan schools for the 2023-24 school year. This is an increase of nearly 400 compared to the 2022-23 school year, and almost 700 more in the past two years. Since 2016-17, EAs have increased by 1,089 or 76 per cent.