Thirty-seven students in final year classes in the technological series. “This figure shocked everyone,” exclaims Nicolas Kemoun, professor of economics and social sciences at the Robert-Doisneau high school in Vaulx-en-Velin. At the start of the school year, there was an explosion of bloated staff [un groupe de plus de 35 élèves] in all series. This is unheard of. How can we do our job correctly in these conditions? ! Do we really care about students and their academic success? »
He notably questions the rectorate* of the Lyon academy in front of whom he met this Tuesday afternoon with around a hundred people. In addition to its establishment, staff from the Jacques-Brel high schools in Vénissieux, Frédéric-Faÿs in Villeurbanne and Albert-Camus in Rillieux-la-Pape are present. They encounter the same problems and all welcome students from middle schools classified “REP” or “REP +” – since the new priority education card, high schools are no longer included.
“Priority education means reducing inequalities”
On Thursday, the Utrillo high school in Stains, in Seine-Saint-Denis, will also be on strike, for the same reasons. “We are fighting locally but our problems are the same in the academies most affected by disadvantaged populations. High schools should fall under the priority education policy to have more resources,” says Jérôme Durancourt, deputy academic secretary of SNES-FSU Lyon.
Before the long school holidays, union organizations had already warned of the risks to come. “They gave us 7.5 hours of additional allocation to duplicate a few courses,” explains Toufik Boubegtiten, professor of philosophy at Robert-Doisneau. This is absolutely not enough to get the job done and it does nothing to address the fact that many classes continue to run with 37 students in class. »
Because these numbers have direct consequences on learning conditions. “When we have more than 30 students in a class, we lose class time to have calm. It is also the inability to help those who need support,” explains Nicolas Kemoun. He adds: “These students deserve to have the same chances of success as those in a high school in the center of Lyon! For them, school is the essential lever to counter the social destiny reserved for them. This is priority education, it is reducing inequalities and not penalizing a child who is born into a family with few resources. »
Commitments from the rectorate or the strike will continue
In Jacques-Brel, the rooms do not even have the capacity to accommodate more than 30 people. “We are affecting student safety! We can’t pile them up! », Support Jimmy Phanthachith and Lamia Amamra, teachers of mathematics and biology respectively. They also point out numerous vacant positions among teachers, school life and the infirmary. Adults who are nevertheless “essential” for the proper functioning of the high school as well as for the education of students and their support, underlines Jérôme Derancourt, from the Albert-Camus high school. “School bullying is also linked to a lack of resources to identify problems and react in time,” he notes.
Teachers then await commitments from the rectorate, in particular on the preparation of the next school year by establishing maximum staff thresholds according to levels and series. “Instead of being forty, we could simply do two classes of twenty,” suggests Nicolas Kemoun, citing the example of what has been done in primary schools in priority education.
Following the gathering, a hearing was organized by the Lyon academy to listen to the demands of representatives of the establishments. If the answers are not satisfactory, “this strike movement could be long-term”, say the union organizations.
*Contacted by 20 minutesthe rectorate of the Lyon academy had not responded to our requests at the time of publication of the paper.