Ontario’s School System on the Brink: Challenges in 2025 Introduction

Ontario’s School System on the Brink: Challenges in 2025 Introduction by Maj (ret’d) CORNELIU, CHISU, CD, PMSC FEC, CET, P.Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East With the beginning of the new school year, issues connected with the management of education in Ontario fill the front pages of the media. It seems that the Ford government is starting to pay attention to the very important issue of improving the education system, which is in drastic need of radical improvement. Ontario’s education system has long been viewed as one of Canada’s most ambitious undertakings, with its vast network of schools, its dual-language boards, and its internationally recognized literacy and numeracy benchmarks. Yet, in recent years, cracks have deepened into fissures. Violence in classrooms, underfunded programs, and questionable governance have collided with an unprecedented public health emergency. Meanwhile, post-secondary institutions are sounding alarms about financial collapse. Taken together, these developments suggest that Ontario’s education system, once a source of pride, is now teetering on the brink of crisis. Perhaps the most alarming indicator of stress in Ontario schools is the rapid increase in violence. New data show a 77% surge in violent incidents reported to the Ministry of Education since the Ford government took office. These include assaults on staff, physical fights among students, and weapon-related episodes. Importantly, only the most severe cases are officially recorded, which means the daily reality of intimidation, harassment, and low-level aggression remains hidden from provincial statistics. Educators and support staff describe a climate where frontline workers feel unsafe and ill-equipped. The Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) has framed the situation as a full-blown crisis, demanding urgent government action to provide additional staff, particularly educational assistants and mental health professionals. Without such reinforcements, they warn, the situation will continue to escalate, eroding the very conditions required for learning. The roots of school violence intertwine with a second structural challenge: chronic underfunding. Teacher federations and parent advocacy groups argue that Ontario’s 2025 budget fails to keep pace with inflation, leaving schools to make difficult choices. Larger class sizes, dwindling special education resources, and insufficient mental health supports are now the norm. Infrastructure, too, is under strain. Many schools operate with aging facilities, deferred maintenance, and inadequate ventilation systems—problems that became painfully visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. The result is a learning environment that feels increasingly neglected, undermining morale for both staff and students. Staff shortages intensify the crisis. Retirements and resignations have accelerated, while recruitment lags behind. Educational assistants, crucial for supporting children with disabilities, are disappearing from classrooms in some boards due to unclear or inadequate funding streams. This places additional pressure on already overstretched teachers while disadvantaging vulnerable students. Beyond funding shortfalls, Ontario’s school system faces governance challenges that raise questions about accountability. In 2025, the provincial government took the extraordinary step of seizing control of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, citing mismanagement, deficits, and unsustainable asset sales. This intervention highlighted how poor financial stewardship can destabilize entire boards, jeopardizing student services. Meanwhile, the Thames Valley District School Board drew public ire after revelations that its top executives attended a lavish retreat at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. The provincial response, a formal audit and suspension of the director, underscored the growing perception that some boards are disconnected from the classroom realities they are supposed to oversee. These governance crises erode public confidence and distract from the pressing task of delivering quality education. For parents, they confirm fears that political and administrative missteps are diverting resources away from children. The storm is not confined to elementary and secondary schools. Ontario’s colleges and universities are staring down what many describe as a looming financial catastrophe. Years of stagnant provincial funding, combined with a seven-year freeze on domestic tuition, have hollowed out budgets. Institutions once reliant on international student fees are reeling from federal caps on foreign enrolments, leaving gaping financial holes. At the same time, universities face the expensive burden of maintaining large campuses, launching new research initiatives, and absorbing enrolment growth. Projections suggest that by 2030, universities could be forced to educate up to 100,000 additional students without adequate government support. For students, the crisis translates into higher fees, fewer supports, and growing anxiety. Surveys show that more than half of Ontario undergraduates are worried about affording their education. OSAP, once a vital tool for equalizing access, has seen limited updates since 2019, leaving it misaligned with the reality of tuition and living costs in 2025. As if fiscal and governance problems were not enough, Ontario has also become the epicenter of a measles outbreak, the largest in the Western Hemisphere. More than 2,000 cases have been reported since late 2024, with schools acting as both flashpoints of transmission and battlegrounds for public health enforcement. Tragically, at least one infant has died. The outbreak reveals systemic weaknesses in Ontario’s immunization strategy. Vaccine hesitancy, exacerbated by the erosion of public trust during the COVID-19 years, has combined with outdated systems for tracking and enforcing school immunization requirements. Ontario law mandates vaccination for school attendance, but exemptions on personal or religious grounds remain easily accessible, undermining herd immunity. The consequences are profound: not only does the outbreak threaten Canada’s international standing as a measles-free country, but it also exposes how fragile public health infrastructures have become in the province. Schools, already stretched by violence and underfunding, are now being asked to police vaccination records in addition to their educational mission. Individually, each of these problems; violence, underfunding, governance scandals, university financing, public health failures; would be daunting. Together, they form a portrait of a system under siege. Teachers feel unsupported, students feel unsafe, parents feel unheard, and administrators are either overwhelmed or distracted by controversy. What is more, the cumulative effect is to weaken public faith in education itself, one of Ontario’s foundational public institutions. Ontario’s education system is one of the province’s most valuable public goods, shaping the future of millions of children and young adults. Yet in 2025, it stands precariously balanced on the brink of multiple crises. Without decisive action, the system risks further decline, leaving an entire generation underserved and unprepared. But with courage, investment, and reform, Ontario could reclaim its reputation as a leader in education. The question is whether political leaders and educational authorities are prepared to act before the cracks in the system widen into collapse. Let’s hope for the best.