You will have understood it for a few days, the government has made secularism its spearhead for this new school year. And this, although for many people the priorities should be elsewhere (harassment, lack of teachers, salaries…). But this secularism would be at two speeds, according to some.
Sophie Binet, general secretary of the CGT, advanced on the set of France 2 “The development of private education is a problem which the Minister of National Education should take care of. There is no secularism and here, obviously, it doesn’t bother anyone. “Because according to the deputy of La France insoumise, Paul Vannier, private schools would fold their pockets with state money. “12 billion euros of public money finance private schools each year”, he wrote on (formerly Twitter). What about this funding? 20 minutes make the point.
FAKE OFF
Private schools actually receive money from the state. But on the condition that they are private schools under contract. This gives them certain obligations, such as “compliance with the programs defined by the Ministry of National Education and the absence of discrimination in the reception of students”, specifies the Court of Auditors. A contract that allows the payment of subsidies.
The Court of Auditors also recalls that “the financing provided by the State to private establishments under contract is preponderant in their economic model”. It is 55% for nursery and primary schools, and 68% for middle and high schools. But on its site, it notes that in 2022, 8 billion euros will be allocated to these private establishments. The website Public Life gives the same amount.
The State is not the only one to subsidize the private school
There is therefore 4 billion euros missing from the sum announced by Paul Vannier. In reality, the 8 billion corresponds to what the State gives for private education. The MP most certainly relies on the “Statistical Benchmarks and References” (RERS) report published each year by the Ministry of National Education and Youth. The latest available is for 2022, and it includes data for the year 2020.
In detail: that year, the Ministry of Education paid 7.7 billion euros. All the other ministries have, for their part, allocated one billion euros to private schools. The sum of these two payments therefore corresponds to the State subsidy: 8.7 billion euros in 2020 – note a drop of 700 million euros in two years. But to this, we must add the contribution of local authorities: 2.7 billion. Then, there are also the 665 million euros distributed by “other public administrations”, mentions the report, without specifying further.
Finally, in 2020, private education therefore benefited from the payment of 12.2 billion euros of public money, as previously announced by the rebellious MP. These amounts are not yet available for 2021 or even 2022.