For his first return to school, the Minister of National Education, Pap Ndiaye, promised that there would be “a teacher in front of each class in all schools in France”. Less than ten days before classes resume, the challenge is daunting. More than 4,000 positions (in the public and private sectors) have not been filled in the teacher competitions, according to figures from the ministry. Faced with this unprecedented recruitment crisis, the successor of Jean-Michel Blanquer says he is “confident” despite “structural difficulties linked to the attractiveness of the profession”. Here is how the National Education intends to prevent students from finding themselves without teachers for their return to class.
Out of 146,500 candidates in the last teacher recruitment competition, only 19,838 applicants were admitted, while 23,571 positions were open to the public, according to the ministry. In some secondary school disciplines, the rate of unfilled vacancies exceeds 30%. In physics and chemistry, barely 66.7% of positions have been filled, compared to 80 to 100% during the three previous years. In mathematics, only 68.5% of positions are filled compared to 84 to 92% one, two or three years ago. In modern letters, 83.5% of positions are filled, well below the 98 to 100% of the previous three years.
At the request of the unions, an additional list has therefore been opened. For each withdrawal of a candidate who has been admitted, a suitor on the waiting list is drafted to be established as a teacher, explains the SE-Unsa union to franceinfo. Persists however un deficit of 3,733 vacant posts in public education (and 279 in the private sector under contract) at the end of the competition. The union asked the ministry to recruit more candidates from the complementary list. A request that has not yet found an echo.
To overcome this lack of teachers, the ministry resorts to a now usual solution: contract workers. These already represent around 8% of secondary school teachers, according to the ministry. “It is true that we use a significant proportion of contract teachers”acknowledged Pap Ndiaye. New contract workers were thus hired, in June, during controversial “job dating”, job interviews organized in several academies. Others continue to be recruited in disaster before the start of the school year.
For the first time this year, contract workers who have already received their assignment were invited by their rectorate to a training course a few days before the start of the school year, on the instructions of the Ministry of Education. “In Créteil, contract teachers will have two days of training on their discipline and then two days of training on their rights and their duties to know how to behave in front of students”details Sophie Vénétitay, secretary general of Snes-FSU.
Some contractors were also invited to “follow video training modules, on their free time”add the general secretary of Snes-FSU. Sophie Vénétitay regrets a hasty training, symptomatic of the “usual tinkering of rectorates”. “Teaching is a profession that can be learned, you can’t train two days before the start of the school year or between two classes”she regrets. “These colleagues should be trained during their working time. By making them follow the training on their free time, we add to their work overload”she points.
Dorothée Crespin, national delegate in charge of contract workers at SE-Unsa, certainly encourages those interested to go to her training, but wonders about the “invitation” nature. “Most of the contract workers have not yet signed their contract, they do not know if they will be paid for this training”she explains. “We are totally in favor of training before the start of the new school year, what raises our question is whether these hours will be paid”she continues.
Not all contractors will be able to benefit from this training. Contacted by franceinfo, Stéphanie, a contract teacher for several years in the Grand-Est, has not received any invitation to training and is still not informed of her assignment for the school year. A situation that is not isolated. Other contract teachers testify to this uncertainty a few days before the start of the school year. “Many contract workers do not know in which establishment and at what levels they will teach, what their schedule will be”lists Dorothée Crespin.
A situation that is all the worse since some of these contract workers have passed the teacher recruitment competition. This is the case of Stephanie: “For the past five years, I have had full-time positions as a contract worker. Last year, I passed the external Capes papers, but was not ‘convincing’ enough in the oral. I missed admission by a few points…” This teacher finds herself in incomprehension: the National Education has entrusted her with classes for several years, but refuses her the status of full teacher.
“We live badly with this status because, when we are in office, there is a legitimacy that we do not have in a teachers’ room. We feel that we are not knighted.”
Stephanie, contract teacherfranceinfo
Stéphanie also testifies to the difficulty of preparing lessons for her future students. “We are in a tense flow, I will only be fixed on my level a few days before the start of the school year, on August 26 or 28. However, when you arrive, no one is going to give you a bunch of lessons.” In addition, she regrets not having access to the same level of supervision and training as trainee teachers. “There is no tutoring set up for contract workers. You should have a tutor, like interns. We are in total trouble, I would like to have a tutor, to be able to go from time to time to follow a few seminars .”
Use of contractors “is a bandage on a wooden leg”, already alerted the SE-Unsa delegate, Olivier Flipo, at the beginning of July, at the microphone of franceinfo. A position shared by Sophie Vénétitay. “For us, the first solution is to ensure that the competitions recruit, that all the places are promoted in the competition”, declares the general secretary of the Snes-FSU. However, it is not a question of lowering the recruitment criteria. “We must play on the salary lever and on the working conditions lever to restore the attractiveness of the teaching profession”explains the trade unionist, also a professor at SES.