for teachers’ unions, Minister of Education Nicole Belloubet “is looking for a way out”

Since the arrival of Nicole Belloubet at the Ministry of National Education, teaching unions have noted an evolution in the government’s position on the contested measure of future level groups.

This is the sensitive subject at the moment in schools: the future level groups, in mathematics and French, from September 2024. This emblematic measure of the shock of knowledge, the package of measures launched by Gabriel Attal in December last to improve the level of students, crystallizes the opposition of some teachers. Since her arrival at the Ministry of National Education, Nicole Belloubet seems to be vacillating on this issue.

Since his appointment 10 days ago, things have been less obvious. Initially, Gabriel Attal spoke of “level groups” based on the results of the beginning of college assessments. The students would be divided into three groups: good, average, or in difficulty. This would concern all hours of mathematics and French, in 6th and 5th grade classes, with maximum numbers of 15 young people, in theory, for the weakest.

The Higher Council of Education votes against

On the side of teachers, the outcry is immediate: these level groups will, according to them, be ineffective for the progress of the less advanced. Not to mention the risk of social sorting, with a concentration of difficulties. Finally, these small groups require additional resources. Even if the ministry releases additional positions, the educational teams affirm that this will not be enough and that certain existing systems will have to be removed, such as half-groups in languages, sciences, or even Latin options.

The two days of strike, organized at the beginning of February, showed strong opposition in the establishments on this subject. The Superior Council of Education, which brings together all the stakeholders, even voted unanimously against it ten days ago.

Without denouncing her Prime Minister, Nicole Belloubet is less clear. Already she never pronounces the full term “level groups” but only says “groups”, what is important. The expression has also disappeared from some of the official texts, which are still being developed. Again on Sunday, when asked about this, she seemed to evade. The minister herself recalls what the unions also say: the scientifically proven importance of heterogeneous classes. “There will not be groups of bad people and groups of good people” she explained. “There will be the possibility for each class to take charge of students in groups.”

The minister “in between”

In any case, the unions have fully grasped this in-between. “We feel that she is stuck and that she is looking for a way out”confided a representative to franceinfo.

“She is in between”also analyzes Audrey Chanonat, principal of a college in Cognac, in Charente, and member of SNPDEN, the majority union among school heads: “We feel that there is an evolution that was not there three weeks ago, that’s for sure. So we have hope. We hope that things will turn around in the common sense. If we are given a little leeway and given the opportunity to create groups that suit the needs of the students in the establishments, this will already be a considerable improvement.”

A solution that would be more accepted in colleges would be to create groups based on a particular concept, for example fractions. But this would be done over a few weeks only and not over the whole year or an entire quarter, or heterogeneous groups where the best could help the weakest. Nicole Belloubet claims to consult on this hot topic and has promised announcements in about a week.