Beyhan Farhadi – The Conversation

Real per-student provincial operating funding to boards last year was at the lowest level seen over the last 10 years, according to The Financial Accountability office of Ontario. A school hallway in Ottawa, in December 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

April 16, 2026

What Ontarians need to know about ‘student achievement’ reforms that will run school boards like businesses

Sachin Maharaj, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Beyhan Farhadi, University of Toronto, and Vidya Shah, University of Toronto

All students and families will be impacted by cuts and provincial reforms being imposed on Ontario schools, and those who are already disadvantaged will bear the brunt.

People attend a candlelight vigil at the front steps of the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Feb. 11, 2026, for the victims of the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

February 16, 2026

More police and surveillance won’t prevent the next school tragedy

Beyhan Farhadi, University of Toronto

When tragedies occur, governments and schools face intense pressure to act, and urgency can produce policies that signal control without a plan to evaluate their impact.

We have a responsibility to interrogate EdTech and surveillance companies’ claims of offering technological solutions to complex social problems. (Shutterstock)

May 23, 2024

Vaping in schools: Ontario’s $30 million for surveillance and security won’t address student needs

Beyhan Farhadi, University of Toronto

In an underfunded education system, in a context of deteriorating public supports, we are turning toward intrusive technologies to contain and control the social pain of young people.

Five Ontario school boards are suing the companies behind major social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, alleging their addictive products have caused the students to suffer from mental health issues, and causing widespread damage and disruption to the education system.

May 2, 2024

Why students harmed by addictive social media need more than cellphone bans and surveillance

Ateqah Khaki, The Conversation; Catherine Zhu, The Conversation, and Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation

Is a cellphone ban, along with increased surveillance, the right way to deal with the impact of addictive and harmful technology in classrooms?

If Ontario rolls out mandatory high school e-learning with no in-person class hours, each student will lose 440 hours of face-to-face class time. (Shutterstock)

October 17, 2019

In Doug Ford’s e‑learning gamble, high school students will lose

Beyhan Farhadi, University of Toronto

For high school students, e-learning is best introduced in face-to-face classes where teachers can meet a greater range of learning needs – not as a completely online experience.

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