“I will absolutely not do that in my life”

“No, I’m not at all surprised that there are fewer and fewer of them!” Jérôme is a master’s student in mathematics applied to biology and medicine at the University of Lyon 1. He himself intended to become a mathematics teacher, then he gave up. “I did an EAP [contrat d’apprentissage pour futurs professeurs]we accompany a teacher between six and eight hours a weekhe explains. It was very instructive that I absolutely will not do that in my life.” Jerome laments “the consideration that society has for teachers, which is very low, the salaries which are absolutely not mirobolant”but also the fact that “Overall, we will agree with the parents” who challenge the decisions.

>> National education: where did the candidates for the teacher recruitment competitions go?

This year, approximately 800 candidates are eligible for the math teacher recruitment competition for more than 1,000 open positions. And it’s not surprising either for Titouan. The student is in the same promotion as Jérôme, and also prefers to continue with a thesis, even if it means returning to the competition later.

“I especially wanted to see what the world of both research and possibly business was like because you have access to this kind of position before saying ‘my life, that’s going to be it’.”

Titouan, master’s student in applied mathematics

at franceinfo

There are all the same some students motivated to teach, including Antoine and Julien, currently in their third year of license. The fact that they have a good chance of being accepted reassures them. “That’s what being in math is, it’s that you’re sure to be caught in the endsmiles Antoine. Especially since mathematics, if I understood correctly, will become somewhat compulsory in high school at the start of the school year, so I’m really motivated. I hope not to be disappointed once in the field with the students.”

“For me it is the most beautiful scienceJulien comes alive, because it is true that without this science, few things would have been discovered. I think it’s a very good job. It’s not necessarily very well paid, but I think that in life, you have to do a job that you like above all.”

What explains the lack of attraction for Capes in mathematics? Research professor at Claude-Bernard Lyon 1 University, Laurent Pujo-Menjouet talks about the lack of scientific culture in the country. “We have Ministers of Education who ask us what is the point of doing mathdeplores the teacher-researcher. You count how many there are who have a scientific background, but there are none.”

“Claude Allègre, who was a geology teacher, told us that math is useless, since now we do everything with calculators, so we don’t need math lessons.”

Laurent Pujo-Menjouet, teacher-researcher

at franceinfo

“When you see yourself having a minister who doesn’t really understand this issue, this passion for this discovery, for interest, for curiosity… Maths is not just about building geometric figures. It’s is how to model, continues Laurent Pujo-Menjouet. I work on the very modeling of romantic relationships, so we manage to do a lot of things with mathematics.”

But the teacher-researcher points out that 30 years ago, when he was a student himself, there were more positions than eligible candidates for the competition. The problem is therefore far from new.