Nearly 10% of college and high school class hours were lost during the 2018-2019 school year, 24% more than the previous year, revealed the Court of Auditors in a study published on Thursday. These absences, of less than 15 days, alone represent 2.5 million hours per year. Among them, only one hour out of five is replaced, ie 500,000 hours.
Absences beyond the control of teachers
But if they are numerous, these absences are nevertheless beyond the control of the teachers. In nearly two out of three cases, teachers’ absences are linked to service obligations, such as training, an educational meeting, an examination board or even the closure of an establishment linked to the baccalaureate or patent exams.
According to the Court of Auditors, the proportion of teachers absent due to ordinary illness over a day is lower than that of employees in the private sector and other ministries.
Recommendations
According to the calculation of the instance, these 2.5 million hours of absences represent a cost of four billion euros. National Education must adopt “a real strategy based on several pillars that are still lacking: knowledge of the phenomenon, prevention in health, means to limit and compensate for short absences”, recommends the Court of Auditors in its report.
Rather than recruiting replacement teachers, the magistrates suggest allowing replacements between professors within the same establishment through overtime, even raising the possibility of forcing professors to accept them. Among other avenues, the Court of Auditors recommends the use of artificial intelligence to find the best niche in the event of teacher training, the replacement of teachers supervising trips and school trips or the recording of a course. by video, broadcast during an absence.