The duty of loyalty in education, a question of public ethics

In the classrooms of Quebec, teachers fight every day to provide the best education for their students. However, when some of them speak publicly to deny the lack of resources, especially in remedial education or support for students in difficulty, they often come across cold response from the establishment: “Duty of loyalty to the employer”.

But to whom should this duty of loyalty be addressed? Are we accountable to the administrative hierarchy or to the public, parents, and especially students? Who are the real beneficiaries of our work? In education, this question is particularly important.

Let’s take the example of a teacher who, after sending several emails to warn the management of his school about the emergency situation of some students, finds himself without a response. As a last resort, he decides to publish a letter in the media to raise public awareness. The reaction? A call to remain silent in the name of “duty of loyalty”. But does this silence really serve the well-being of the students?

Unlike the private sector, where a duty of loyalty may protect confidential information, education is a public service funded by the community. In such a context, transparency and accountability should come first. A teacher who reveals gaps in resources or services, after giving the employer an opportunity to be aware of the problem and respond accordingly, is acting for the benefit of all, and certainly not against the employer. his hire. Public service workers serve the public, not managers.

In Quebec, education is supposed to be a government priority. Isn’t it time for this commitment to become a tangible reality? The time is no longer for empty words, but for concrete actions. It is essential that school stakeholders, whether teachers, school principals or those responsible for school service centres, come together to ensure that the student is truly at the center of all decisions. This means recognizing problems without seeing them as personal criticism or attacks on institutions.

Teachers, like non-teaching staff, are at the end of their lives, and many students are going through extremely difficult times. It’s time to stop these facts and act to improve the system. Because this silence, imposed on the issue of solidarity, does not serve anyone – students, or parents, and certainly not the future of Quebec.

The future of our society depends on the quality of education we offer to our youth today. Every child deserves to be supported by competent, committed and qualified teachers. This is not optional, it is absolutely necessary. To do this, we must have the courage to point out the flaws in the system when they appear and respond to them with solutions, not with walls of silence.

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