13,500 students are still without a high school assignment, two weeks after the start of the school year

Two weeks after the start of the school year, 13,500 students are still without a high school assignment, franceinfo learned on Saturday September 16, confirming information from Le Parisien. Two thirds are waiting for an assignment to a vocational high school. The Defender of Rights obtained this figure from the Ministry of National Education. She was worried about a phenomenon that she considered to be constantly increasing but the ministry is more reassuring because it concerns 0.3% of students.

Furthermore, 9,000 more high school students were unassigned at the end of August, adds the Ministry of Education. Gabriel Attal’s services point out to franceinfo that more than 15,000 students were in this situation at the same period last year.

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The ministry puts forward three explanations. Among the young people concerned, there are high school students who have just moved, and who are therefore waiting for an assignment. Then, there are non-French-speaking students, who are waiting for an assessment of their French level before being assigned to a high school. Finally, there are the students who refused their first assignment and are waiting for another offer.

The rectorates take stock of available places daily. They are asked to receive, if necessary, students, in the name of the fight against dropping out of school, the Ministry of Education tells franceinfo, which is hopeful that the situation will be resolved quickly.