Dozens of Alberta students play hooky, rally for teachers as strike deadline looms

Dozens of students played hooky from school to rally for teachers at Alberta's legislature today as a provincewide teachers strike deadline nears.

They shouted, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, where did the budget go?' and waved signs in solidarity with the province's 51,000 teachers who are fighting for higher wages and reduced classroom sizes.

The Alberta government and the Alberta Teachers' Association say both parties remain at the table trying to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of the Oct. 6 strike deadline teachers have set.

Nyla Ahmadzai, one of the rally's organizers, says students were at the legislature to raise awareness about the difficult work conditions faced by teachers.

She says she has between 37 and 42 students in each class, and her teachers are overwhelmed.

The province has said part of its offer is to hire thousands more teachers and build more schools to deal with overcrowding.