The National Education Ombudsman received 20,400 complaints in 2023, 12% more than in 2022

In 2023, the National Education Ombudsman received 20,400 complaints, according to her annual report released on Wednesday, July 17. This is 12% more complaints than in 2022. According to the report, entitled “Make an alliance, restore confidence”two reasons explain this increase: mediation is increasingly known, 87 mediators are spread throughout France, but also the fact that conflicts in establishments are on the rise. “The school climate has become very tense”writes Catherine Becchetti-Bizot, the National Education mediator, in her report.

Of these complaints, around three-quarters come from users, i.e. students and families, and a quarter from staff. The mediator notably records increasingly frequent challenges to teaching. Furthermore, disputes concerning grades or exam results have jumped by 150% in five years.

Catherine Becchetti-Bizot also explains that“There are a lot of misunderstandings and stiffening”. She also evokes “perhaps this distrust of others, where staff are a little on the defensive because they feel delegitimized and where families are systematically defending their child without trying to understand”. According to her, this attitude “contributes to reinforcing this feeling of insecurity or fragility among staff who are sometimes suffering.”

Concerning the referrals from staff, they relate more to financial issues, remuneration, late payments or career issues. It should be noted that three-quarters of complaints are processed by the mediators in less than a month and almost all in three months maximum.