The heads of schools in Toulouse received a request from the police, asking them to count the students absent on April 21, the day of Eid al-Fitr, as explained by the Dépêche du Midi.
It is an awkwardness which does not pass. According to information from the Dépêche du Midipolice asked the heads of schools in Toulouse to tell them the number of students absent on the day of Eid al-Fitr, April 21, on the eve of school holidays in the Toulouse academy.
A request by email and without authorization from the rectorate
“School principals and heads of establishments have been asked to provide figures for absenteeism on Eid day,” a union source told AFP, confirming information published by the regional daily La Despatch from the South. This request was made by email, without the approval of the rectorate of Toulouse. “Under no circumstances are we carrying out investigations of this kind,” Mostafa Fourar, rector of the academy, told AFP. “If someone took this initiative, National Education is absolutely not associated with it,” he added.
“As soon as the heads of establishments and school principals informed us of this request, instructions were obviously given not to respond to it,” said Mostafa Fourar. “The territorial intelligence services went through the referent police officers of the National Education, their message was poorly formulated, but asking for an absenteeism rate is not filing or personal data”, underlined this source.
A similar case identified in the Hérault
This territorial intelligence work is part of a context of “renewed attacks on secularism in schools” during the Ramadan period, according to this same source, with for example “challenges for social networks to film themselves with a veil” or refusals to participate in singing and music lessons.
Pupils are subject to the obligation of regular attendance, but leave of absence can be issued to families who request it for a religious holiday. “In the event of their child’s absence, the parents must immediately inform the director of the school of the reasons for their absence, but it is not up to the services to ask if they are going to be absent, in accordance with respect for the confidentiality of beliefs”, according to the Ministry of National Education.
“We do not understand how we could have this initiative, without it having been discussed anywhere. This raises questions because clearly the state services have not spoken to National Education, “said Pierre Priouret, secretary general of Snes-FSU Toulouse. But according to La Dépêche du Midi, a similar request had been made in early May, in Hérault.