Drop in the educational level, inequalities within schools, shortage of teachers… On Thursday, the Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye was very critical of the current functioning of the school, suggesting new decisions which should take place at the start of year 2023.
For Pap Ndiaye, “the findings are harsh. They relate to the crisis in the recruitment of teachers” – registrations for the competition two times less numerous than in 2020 – but also “the level of the pupils, whose international comparisons reveal the worrying shortcomings. They also reflect the daily experience of establishments, where the annual timetables in each discipline struggle to be covered, ”he writes in the preamble of a forum in The world titled “Why We Need to Reform Schools”.
“The results of national and international assessments are not satisfactory”
The historian highlights his “requirement” on the school level of the students. “Results in national and international assessments are not satisfactory. Let’s be clear: the overall level is falling! “, he exclaims, proposing to set “ambitious objectives”.
According to him, we must “still insist on the fundamental lessons, in particular in CM1, CM2 and 6th”. “The break between CM2 and 6e is too strong. It reinforces educational inequalities rather than reducing them. Regularly working on spelling, conjugation and grammar, further consolidating or deepening French and mathematics in 6th grade”, are in particular advanced avenues to “facilitate the transition from primary school to college”.
Measures concerning this passage are expected at the beginning of 2023. Developments concerning the classes of 5th, 4th, 3rd “will be the subject of consultation”, announced the Minister.
In his op-ed, the minister also mentions “the general mistrust, marked by the rise of the private sector and by the skepticism expressed by some of the parents” then ends on equal opportunities. “A school which, while promising it, does not grant equality, produces not only injustice, but also distrust and a feeling of anger in the working classes. »