The Defender of Rights asks that all high school students have an assignment at the start of the school year

The Defender of Rights urges the government to find solutions. Claire Hédon asks the Ministry of National Education, in a decision rendered on Thursday July 6, to “end” the non-assignment of high school students, due to “the lack of space to accommodate them”. During the last school year, in September 2022, 17,832 high school students found themselves without a place in an establishment. These recurring assignment problems mainly concern students in the vocational stream.

Between now and September, the Defender of Rights recommends that the ministry take measures, such as “the establishment of permanence in the rectorates” in order to respond “to urgent requests during school holidays”. Another measure to adopt: welcoming “full time” those who will still be without an establishment on Monday, September 4, the day of the new school year, until a definitive assignment is found for them.

A more difficult situation in some academies

Last year, 3,547 students still did not have a high school at the end of September, according to figures provided by National Education, which says the situation is “particularly difficult” in the academies of Créteil, Lyon, Mayotte, Strasbourg and Versailles. Quoted in the decision of the Defender of Rights, the ministry explains the non-assignment of these high school students by “the weakness of certain school results”, leading schools not to retain these students. For example, 460 high school students who failed the baccalaureate in 2022 were unable to re-enroll in September in their original establishment.

“Constraints related to human resources” And “the geographical location of vocational training sites” also cause these non-assignments. However, the ministry says it is taking action, citing boarding schools in rural areas that aim to “compensate for any obstacles to student mobility” and guaranteeing the right to education for all.