TRUE OR FALSE. Are Parisian schools better equipped than those in Seine-Saint-Denis?

In the midst of the controversy over the lack of resources in public schools after the comments of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, inequalities in resources between schools are being singled out. “I remind you what came from a senatorial report: the least well endowed school in Paris is better endowed than the best endowed school in Seine-Saint-Denis”, pointed out MP Mathilde Panot (La France insoumise). The 2018 report indeed mentions the difference in resources between Seine-Saint-Denis and Paris for primary and secondary schools.

Private establishments have more hours to grant to students

The franceinfo “True or False” team had access to the grants granted to the colleges of Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis. The journalists used the indicator of the number of weekly teaching hours per student, called H/E. The higher it is, the greater the resources provided by National Education. On average, the two departments benefit from almost the same allocation. “We should have a stronger allocation in Seine-Saint-Denis, because the social composition is more disadvantaged. But we can also regret that the most experienced teachers are in the Paris academy”estimates Elisa Huillery, professor of economics at Paris Dauphine University.

On the set of 19/20 info, Thursday January 18, journalist Louis Aubry from the “True or False” unit also discusses an investigation by Worldwhich used the H/E index to evaluate Parisian public and private high schools. “If we take two high schools with 500 students in Paris, the private high school has 85 hours more lessons available compared to the public high school. (…) We observe the same thing as between Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis. In private establishments, it is the most advantaged students who can study in better conditions thanks to state donations.he explains.