Condemnations have been pouring in since the Ministry of the Interior asked certain academies in France to specify the number of students absent during the Muslim holiday of Eid el-Fitr, marking the breaking of the Ramadan fast. , on April 21.
In a press release, Sunday, the Secretary of State for Citizenship, Sonia Backès, admitted that an “assessment of the rate of absenteeism” had been undertaken, but denied any “recording”. “The ministry (…) regularly studies the impact of certain religious holidays on the functioning of public services, and in particular within the school sphere. »
“A request contrary to the principle of secularism”
The Montpellier Academy (Hérault) was concerned by this solicitation, contested by many associations. If the prefecture did not wish to comment, the services of the Rectorate have responded to requests for 20 minutes, Monday evening. “As soon as the rector of the Montpellier academy and the Dasen [Directeur académique des services de l’Éducation nationale] de l’Hérault learned of the sending of a message from the DSDEN 34 [Direction des services départementaux de l’Education nationale de l’Hérault] aimed at measuring trends in school absenteeism on the occasion of the Eid el-Fitr holiday, a very clear email signed by Dasen de l’Hérault was immediately sent to cancel this request, thus inviting disregard the message received previously. “A request, specify the services of the rectorate, “sent by mistake and clumsiness”.
“Such a request is totally contrary to the principle of secularism of public establishments”, continues the academy. The rectorate of Montpellier indicates that the request having been canceled “no numerical data and no nominative data was neither identified nor transmitted by the heads of establishment of the Hérault and the academy of Montpellier. At no moment. »