The phrase was repeated over and over again by Emmanuel Macron and his Minister of Education on the eve of the start of the school year: “There will be a teacher in front of each class”. A promise which irritates teachers and school heads: “Since we knew that this would not be the case, we should not tell stories”, commented this Wednesday Bruno Bobkiewicz, general secretary of SNPDEN, the main union of school leaders.
Because this year again, more than 1,850 positions were not filled in the secondary competitive examinations, due to a recruitment crisis. A situation a little less tense than during the start of the 2022 school year, but which forced National Education to once again resort to contract workers. Two weeks after the start of the school year, the time to take stock has come, and several unions have surveyed their troops on the ground. In a survey carried out among 2,750 principals and principals and revealed this Wednesday, SNPDEN-Unsa noted that in 58% of middle and high schools, more than one teacher was missing last week. On Monday, the Snes-FSU, the first secondary education union, unveiled its own survey carried out in 508 middle and high schools. It reported a lack of “at least one teacher on average in 48% of middle and high schools” in France.
“A break in equality between students”
The situation varies greatly from one territory to another. “As usual, the academy of Créteil (Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne and Seine-et-Marne) is the most concerned, followed by that of Versailles. But that of Nice is also affected. On the other hand, the Limoges academy is the one where there are the fewest problems,” notes Bruno Bobkiewicz. The FSU-Snes also points to shortages of teachers in the academies of Versailles (59%), Orléans-Tours (53%), Normandy (51%) or Nantes (50%).
According to Snes, the subjects most affected are modern literature, English, mathematics and engineering sciences. “Sometimes, it is only a few hours in a discipline that cannot be provided, but this still creates a break in equality between students,” underlines Laurence Colin, deputy general secretary at SNPDEN-Unsa. In addition to teachers, there is also a lack of support staff for students with disabilities (AESH) in 22% of establishments, according to the SNPDEN-Unsa survey “and even 50% in Parisian middle and high schools”, observes Bruno Bobkiewicz.
Possible replacements thanks to the pact?
The Ministry of National Education contests these data in part, because it considers that the Snes study does not distinguish “unfilled positions” from occasional absences at the time of the start of the school year, linked to sick leave, leave maternity… Absences which are “obviously intended to be resolved or replaced quickly”, specifies Gabriel Attal’s entourage at 20 Minutes. According to him, data from academies “shows 500 positions remaining to be filled in secondary education, or 0.1% of positions. » Words which do not reassure Bruno Bobkiewicz: “We are not sure that there will be enough contract workers to fill these gaps. Furthermore, within 15 days, we will see other sick leave appear, as with every return to school.”
Gabriel Attal is banking in particular on the teaching pact, which provides for salary increases conditional on new missions, in particular short-term replacements in middle and high schools. A solution which will not be possible everywhere, because according to the SNPDEN-Unsa survey, 30% of establishments have no signed pact at this stage, and 54% of middle and high schools have less than 10%. The average rate of pacts signed in secondary schools is 23%. And the investigation does not say whether the teachers involved in the system accepted one replacement mission or another. If teachers can continue to sign pacts during the year, Bruno Bobkiewicz does not believe in an imminent surge in numbers: “There is a collective allergy to the pact, it is a poorly designed system. » The objective that the former Minister of Education, Pap Ndiaye, aimed for last April, of 30% support among teachers, therefore seems to be moving away.
Consultations to improve the working conditions of teachers
In order not to put all his eggs in one basket, Gabriel Attal brought together the teaching unions this Wednesday to discuss “ways to further strengthen the attractiveness of the teaching profession”. The unions have already expressed their priorities: “salary, staff ratio/class size, improving the movement, overhauling the functioning of the inclusive school”, lists Jean-Rémi Girard, president of Snalc.
And according to Elisabeth Allain-Moreno, general secretary of SE-Unsa, the renewed attractiveness of the profession requires “less crowded classes, students with special needs better supported, training during working hours possible, part-time work authorized, arranged career ends…”. A host of demands that will undoubtedly be difficult for the new minister to honor.