TORONTO – The number of violent incidents in Ontario’s classrooms has skyrocketed in recent years, according to a Global News journalistic research. The level of violence reported by school boards to the Ministry of Education has increased by 77%  since Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives took office in the Province, with over 4,400 incidents reported in the 2023-24 school year alone. 

The rate of violent incidents has increased annually since the 2018-19 school year, with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were closed for extended periods. The Ministry of Education has acknowledged that the numbers are rising. “To address rising violence in our schools and communities, our government has increased funding for school safety initiatives to the highest in Ontario history, including more funding to hire psychologists, social workers, child/youth workers and educational assistants to enhance direct services for students…” a spokesperson told Global News.

A summary of all incidents of violence reported to the government by Ontario’s education authorities over the past seven years shows a significant increase, especially since the pandemic.

In the 2018-19 school year, schools reported 2,499 incidents across the province. The following year, the number rose to 3,237. The number dropped to just 993 in the 2020-21 school year, before rising to 2,866 the following year with the end of the pandemic and the return to normal classes. By 2022-23, the number had increased to 4,414 violent incidents over the course of the year. Last year (2023-24), authorities recorded a further, albeit marginal, increase, bringing the total to 4,424. Last year, a survey of its members by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) confirmed that teachers were experiencing a surge in violent attacks, including biting, punching, and kicking, as well as students using furniture to harm staff. The survey included anonymous accounts from high school teachers. “For the first time in my years as an educator, I dreaded coming to work every day” one teacher said.

The opposition seizes the opportunity to attack the Ontario government. Shadow Minister for Education, Chandra Pasma (NDP), stated that “the numbers tell a clear story: we are seeing a crisis of violence develop as our children’s needs go unmet at school. Unfortunately, this is only the tip of the iceberg as many incidents go unreported…” said MPP Pasma.  

“Our kids are bearing the brunt of Doug Ford’s cuts to education, from larger class size to fewer EAs and support staff, to the lack of mental health professionals, and less supports for special needs students. Our education workers and teachers shouldn’t have to put up with injuries as a routine part of the job.  The Premier has been busy listening to his developer friends about moving highways and building fantasy tunnels, but it’s about time he listens to concerned parents who just want their kids to be safe at school. We have the solutions, the Government just needs to act – it must hire more qualified staff in classrooms so our kids have a safe place to learn…”.

The Ontario NDP thus recalls its “Emergency Plan to End School Violence” (here the details) and calls on the Ford government to implement it.

The plan includes:  

• Funding to hire additional qualified staff, including mental health professionals, education assistants, child and youth workers, and other education workers. 

• Funding for comprehensive training for all workers and supervisors. 

• A sector-specific regulation for education under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. 

• A permanent provincial health and safety working group to review and adapt current policies regarding workplace violence in the education sector. 

• A single province-wide online reporting system for violent incidents and data collection to understand the full scope of the problem. 

Photo by La Fabbrica Dei Sogni from Unsplash