On French Secondary Education.
This week the French Minister of Education, Gilles de Robien, caused an uproar when he said on a Catholic radio station that “private teaching is not a recourse, it’s a choice”, then defending a necessary “equality of resources so that this choice can be made”.
Now whether you are French or American you may not that the private school system in France is actually partly funded by the government (L’Etat)
Under a law voted in 1959, private schools in France can go under contract with the government – and most of them do - and be partly funded in exchange for agreeing on a strictly state-controlled syllabus and the respect of freedom of conscience. Those schools have their teachers paid by taxpayers’ money and even the running costs (heating, regular maintenance, etc…) are funded by local taxes.
In a country that prides itself in a strict separation of church and state, private and public, this may seem highly paradoxical, don't you think? In fact, this is something not well known by a lot of French people.
The tension between those in favour of the private schools and those supporting the public system remains high, however . As a result of those comments by the French Minister of Education, the media have accused him of inciting a “school war” and indeed in the 80s and 90, up to one million people demonstrated (either to defend the private schools or the public schools) when they thought the current ‘balance’ was threatened. The divide tends to go along political lines but still, today about 80% of the French students go to public schools whereas 20% go to private ones and of those private schools, 98% are catholic.
The recent strain on the public school due to the increase of students attending high-school up to the baccalaureate has worsened the tension, and a ‘school war’ is still always possible. Now personally, I chose to teach in the public school system precisely because I strongly believe in it. I am actually firmly against any public funding of the private schools even though my views may not reflect that of the majority. I think that the balance may have worked well in the past but in today’s world, where the national debt is high and tax cuts are in the air, the government should refocus its priority on the support of public schools alone, including higher education. Unfortunately I think the country will remain divided over the issue and the status quo will remain.
The result is nevertheless quite perverse - in the name of quality, all taxpayers are forced to subsidise the privileged!
Now whether you are French or American you may not that the private school system in France is actually partly funded by the government (L’Etat)
Under a law voted in 1959, private schools in France can go under contract with the government – and most of them do - and be partly funded in exchange for agreeing on a strictly state-controlled syllabus and the respect of freedom of conscience. Those schools have their teachers paid by taxpayers’ money and even the running costs (heating, regular maintenance, etc…) are funded by local taxes.
In a country that prides itself in a strict separation of church and state, private and public, this may seem highly paradoxical, don't you think? In fact, this is something not well known by a lot of French people.
The tension between those in favour of the private schools and those supporting the public system remains high, however . As a result of those comments by the French Minister of Education, the media have accused him of inciting a “school war” and indeed in the 80s and 90, up to one million people demonstrated (either to defend the private schools or the public schools) when they thought the current ‘balance’ was threatened. The divide tends to go along political lines but still, today about 80% of the French students go to public schools whereas 20% go to private ones and of those private schools, 98% are catholic.
The recent strain on the public school due to the increase of students attending high-school up to the baccalaureate has worsened the tension, and a ‘school war’ is still always possible. Now personally, I chose to teach in the public school system precisely because I strongly believe in it. I am actually firmly against any public funding of the private schools even though my views may not reflect that of the majority. I think that the balance may have worked well in the past but in today’s world, where the national debt is high and tax cuts are in the air, the government should refocus its priority on the support of public schools alone, including higher education. Unfortunately I think the country will remain divided over the issue and the status quo will remain.
The result is nevertheless quite perverse - in the name of quality, all taxpayers are forced to subsidise the privileged!
posted by Joker & Thief @ 12:02 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I didn’t know about the running costs. Some people I know send their children in catholic private schools (even when they are not practising Catholic) thinking teachers are better, the children are better taken in hands and the violence non existent or more easily under control. My husband learnt in state schools, I learnt in private ones, our children have a state education.
One of my English teachers who formerly taught in elementary private schools told that as the years went by families had more and more difficulties to pay the schooling charges.
I think the State can finance the running costs of private education to ensure the safety of the equipment up to the secondary education as pupils have to go to school till they are 16. About salaries and other needs it’s not its business and in any case it can’t afford it any more.
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