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TRUE OR FALSE. Are nursery and primary schools overcrowded in France?
TRUE OR FALSE. Are nursery and primary schools overcrowded in France? – (franceinfo)
Since 2019, Emmanuel Macron has promised to unclog nursery and primary school classes throughout the country. Has the government achieved its objective of limiting the number of children per class to 24 at the start of the school year?
For several years, Emmanuel Macron and his government have promised to set up “human-sized” classes in primary schools. Classes in the large section at CE1 must be limited to 24 students, reiterated Gabriel Attal in 2023.
However, in a nursery school in Drancy (Seine-Saint-Denis), the director explains that a teacher has to teach more than thirty children when other teachers are absent. Overstaffing difficult to manage, particularly due to lack of space. Children also suffer from this overload, and parents worry about their learning.
Less and less busy classes
Across the country, 10.3% of large section classes (CP and CE1) still had 25 or more students in 2023, compared to 26% in 2019. The numbers have therefore fallen since the president’s announcements, in particular thanks to demographic decline. In five years, the number of students has decreased by 320,000 in schools.
On average, elementary classes are made up of 19 children in OECD member countries, compared to 22 in France. In particular, a higher birth rate than elsewhere and fewer teachers. Even if the numbers are gradually decreasing, the objective of limiting classes to 24 students has not been achieved.
