Provincial teachers' unions meeting in St. John's have called for governments to address "overwhelming concerns" about the state of education in the country.

The 21 organizations, representing more than 300,000 teachers across Canada, issued a statement Wednesday, "due to overwhelming concerns on educational reform, inclusive education, austerity budgets and teachers' mental health and wellness."

The statement blamed austerity budgets for undermining the education system, and said students, teachers and families are losing out.

"Publicly funded public education needs to be fully funded in order to support student learning," the statement said.

It goes on to call for enough money and educators to support inclusive education, which integrates students with special needs into regular classrooms.

"Fiscal deficits must not be solved at the expense of the public education system or on the backs of our children," said the teachers.