NDP launches survey about class sizes, wants UCP to hire more teachers and build more schools

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The Opposition NDP has launched a survey on class sizes in an attempt to get a clearer picture of how many students there are per Alberta classroom in 2023-24.

Its education critic, Rakhi Pancholi, told CTV News Edmonton the governing UCP stopped reporting class sizes about four years ago.

She's heard some classrooms across the province have 30 to 35 students this school year.

"We're asking for this reporting because we want to provide some ability to advocate for those communities to sort of back up the stories that we've already heard anecdotally about class sizes and to be able to say, 'Look, this is not just happening in this isolated community, but this is a problem in many across the province,' Pancholi, MLA for Edmonton-Whitemud, said in an interview. "It's really a tool for advocacy. It's a way to provide transparency to Alberta families."

Pancholi wants the UCP to build more schools, hire more teachers and education assistants, and increase funding.

"When it comes to funding, we know that infusing one-time funding for one year or two years isn't enough," she said. "School boards need to be able to know that they're going to get enough funding to meet every single student that walks through their doors and that it's going to sustainable, predictable and reliable."

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said Alberta is spending $2 billion over the next three years, including $820 million to hire more than 3,000 teachers and education staff.

"As well, we've already approved 58 school projects across the province, and I will be working to build more schools in our growing communities," Nicolaides said.

The NDP's survey is available online.