A group of teachers, parents, and community members will be gathering in front of Minister Paul Merriman’s office in Saskatoon for the third of four scheduled rallies put on by the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation.

The STF has held rallies for the past two weekends in Moose Jaw and Humboldt to encourage ministers Tim McLeod and Donna Harpauer, respectively, to address the underfunding of public education.

An STF news release states that in a recent survey of Saskatchewan teachers, 96 percent of participants said that the demands on the teaching profession have increased compared to five years ago, and 87 percent said that the complexity of the classroom has increased in the last two years.

Despite this, the release says budget cuts and underfunding meant that Saskatchewan saw a decrease of 145 full-time educators from 2021-23, while schools also experienced the highest student enrolment growth in 20 years.

The Saskatoon rally will begin at 1:00pm, and the fourth and final rally will take place on November 4th in North Battleford outside the office of Minister Jeremy Cockrill.