“The new Minister of National Education must meet three challenges to ensure the future of young French people”

TThree unavoidable challenges await Pap Ndiaye. The first is the recruitment crisis. The results at the 2022 capes are disastrous. In math, out of 1,035 vacancies, only 557 candidates were admitted. The situation is comparable in physics and chemistry (425 posts, 209 admitted), modern literature (755 posts, 598 admitted), German (215 posts, 60 admitted), etc. For the school teacher competition, the results are also catastrophic. In Ile-de-France, 1,728 positions have not been filled.

The decline in the number of applicants and admissions is often explained by the low salaries of teachers. The revaluation of the beginnings of a career, introduced by Jean-Michel Blanquer [en 2021], is, of course, pusillanimous. After fifteen years of seniority, this salary is also 20% below the European average. But this low remuneration has characterized the profession for a long time and does not explain the fall observed in 2022. This is linked to the Blanquer reform of teacher training.

Now the students no longer pass their competition at the end of master 1, but of master 2. This is devoted to writing a dissertation, a third time in an establishment and preparing for their competition. Unbelievable demands. The reform transformed more than 20,000 trainee teachers paid 1,500 euros net per month into student trainees paid half as much. On the sly, Minister Blanquer pauperized entry into the profession. To achieve derisory savings, he sacrificed the future. The consequences are known. At the start of the 2022 school year, contract workers will be recruited en masse.

bad signal

The second major challenge is the low level of French students. In the latest TIMSS survey, in mathematics, the average score of French college students of 4^e (483 points) is well below the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development average (OECD, 511). On average, 11% of middle school students are excellent in OECD countries; only 2% in France. This catastrophic situation, heralding an inevitable scientific decline, requires urgent measures.

Also read the column: Article reserved for our subscribers Reform of teacher training: “A return to the past”

First he must come back to the disastrous reform of teacher training. It should not deter, but attract. Improving students’ skills is also irreconcilable with the proliferation of contract workers, at best those who have failed competitions whose level has been deemed insufficient; at worst, holders of a bac + 3 diploma not directly related to the discipline. Next, teachers need to be better paid.

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