Jean-Rémi Girard is president of the
SNALC
(National Union of High Schools and Colleges).
LE FIGARO. - This Thursday, April 18, in Viry-Châtillon, the Prime Minister announced an end to
“the culture of excuses”
, recalling that his
“compass is zero impunity”
. What to remember from Gabriel Attal’s announcements?
Jean-Rémi GIRARD. -
This is above all a political speech. Gabriel Attal made extensive use of the theme of authority, surrounding it with numerous symbols and remarks relating to the “sanctuary school”. Everything was just sketches and broad ideas, inapplicable or at least difficult to implement, while we are waiting for real measures that can come to fruition.
The Prime Minister expressed his wish to
“empower resigning parents”
, so that they can
“respond for the actions of their children”
. How can we make adults who defend their children responsible in the face of National Education?
Within National Education, teachers, directors and heads of establishments are experiencing ever more difficulties dealing with families. And, if the teaching staff can exercise legitimate authority over students, they cannot impose this same authority on parents and families. There are few means of pressure or ability to challenge what students' parents do and say.
If a child does not show up for class because his parents are taking him on vacation, there is nothing teachers can do except mark him absent. The challenge is therefore to make parents responsible. However, National Education cannot do this, having no leverage to put pressure on families. The Prime Minister proposes to sign a contract on the rights and obligations of parents, with a view to modifying the relations they maintain with National Education. However, there already exist internal regulations and a charter on secularism that parents must sign at the start of the year but this has no concrete effect. This is only a symbolic measure...
He recalled several measures already taken, such as the establishment of empathy courses and the doubling of the hours of moral and civic education. Do these measures really make it possible to stop violence among minors?
If empathy courses have been tested in very few schools, they are nothing less than moral and civic education courses, under another name. And it is not enough to increase the number of lessons in primary school to allow for a fundamental change, even though teachers already have long, busy days to orchestrate. On the doubling of the timetable for moral and civic education, Gabriel Attal lied. Contrary to what Emmanuel Macron had announced, this doubling did not take place, both in primary and secondary schools.
We are witnessing an unprecedented crisis, under the Fifth Republic, in recruitment to National Education.
Jean-Rémi Girard
A subject too little addressed by the Prime Minister is security; that of students, teachers, establishments... However, there is a real problem with securing our establishments. If Gabriel Attal promised that 350 establishments would be supported on French territory in terms of security, this figure is illusory. With such low figures, it will take almost a century to secure all educational establishments.
The SNALC thus demands a safety diagnosis of each school, middle school or high school. To this would be added the implementation of real budgetary work between the State and local authorities to benefit from the equipment necessary to secure educational establishments: gates of sufficient height, agents stationed at reception, systems alarm...
Isn't this security issue part of a broader crisis in national education and the bankruptcy of our institutions?
The main issue is the difficult recruitment of teachers. We are witnessing an unprecedented crisis, under the Fifth Republic, in recruitment to National Education. But issues of violence by minors and security of establishments are also becoming more and more important. We must be able to ensure the teaching and transmission of knowledge and fundamentals in a secure environment. This requires, among other things, support from the hierarchy and institutions when the teaching staff encounters difficulties with certain families. Adult supervision must also be more consistent to overcome these difficulties - particularly in school life. The education crisis relates to violence and delinquency, but it is nested in a broader problem.