The province of Manitoba is changing the credit requirements for teacher certification in the early and middle years.

Under the new rules, which are now in effect, new teachers no longer have to take extra credit hours in subjects like math, science and English.

“These regulatory changes are necessary to be able to remove overly restrictive barriers that prevent people from entering the profession,” said Tracy Schmidt, Acting Secretary of Education.

In the past, early and middle year teachers were required to take six extra credit hours in four different subjects, including math, social studies and English.

Now, the province is removing that requirement. However, some worry that this will add to even lower math scores for Manitoba children.

“I’ve been advocating for better math education for Manitoba kids for 15 years, and I’ll say this is probably the most alarming thing I’ve seen in all that time,” said Anna Stokke, professor of mathematics at the University of Winnipeg .

Stokke says many students’ math skills are already weak.

She noted that these future teachers should be taking more math — not less.

“I think it’s unacceptable and I think it needs to be reversed,” Stokke said.

However, the province says the changes bring Manitoba in line with other provinces and increase the number of teachers able to enter the field.

The University of Manitoba says it is not concerned that this will lead to a decrease in the ability to teach math, as all their students must take at least one math course to earn their degree.

“Our program specifically focuses on teaching pedagogy for mathematics education,” said Jan Stewart, dean of education at the University of Manitoba.

“So all students in our program are required to take six hours of math education teaching credit.”

Stewart says the old rules drove some people out of teaching in their early and middle years, or even caused them to take jobs out of the province.

The Manitoba Society of Teachers also endorses the changes.

In a statement to CTV News Winnipeg, he writes: “Government’s shift in focus does not diminish the quality of education. in fact, it can enhance it by emphasizing an educator’s understanding of teaching methods.”