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This expression comes from the title of an article on the decentralization of the French school system, written by the new minister in 2016. A provocative title that the former academy rector assumed at the time.
The new boss of National Education is not in the habit of mincing her words about the institution. In 2016, the former academy rector published an article in the university journal After tomorrowtitled “Suppress the Ministry of National Education?” A title that she immediately temporizes in the article: “Obviously, this is a provocation, but a provocation that gives food for thought!” Indeed, in this article, for the author it is not so much a question of dismantling a ministry, the importance of which she recalls, as of decentralizing the French education system.
Succeeding Amélie Oudéa-Castera in the hot seat, Nicole Belloubet assured, Thursday February 8, that she “continued implementation” measures announced by Gabriel Attal and Emmanuel Macron. Wearing a uniform, school harassment, level groups… There are many burning issues awaiting the new minister. However, the former Minister of Justice, from the socialist inner circle, has not always been aligned with the current educational policy of the executive. How did she intend, seven years ago, to reform National Education? Franceinfo returns to its positions.
“Tricks about wearing a blouse”
When she published her article on the “abolition of the Ministry of National Education”, Nicole Belloubet was then a member of the Constitutional Council. Before that, her career was closely linked to the French education system: she has a doctorate in public law and she was a university professor and then rector of the academies of Limoges and Toulouse, between 1997 and 2005. In her article, she recalls the mission of teachers schools and that of the ministerial authority, which “guarantees consistency, carries out the essential equalizations to achieve greater equality, labels diplomas, their quality and their social integration value, in particular”.
While she pleaded for “taking into account the specific needs of students”the former rector on the other hand criticized the “tribes about the restoration of authority or the wearing of a blouse”. A large-scale experiment with the uniform was announced by Gabriel Attal in December 2023. Asked about Nicole Belloubet, the Prime Minister declared Thursday evening on France 2 that“we can have taken positions in the past and have evolved” ensuring that his ministers were “totally aligned” on its positions. Friday, upon her arrival at the ministry, Nicole Belloubet took care to mention “the values of respect and authority”.
A “decentralization” of the French education system
More local, less state. For Nicole Belloubet, “the French education system must evolve towards more territorial and functional decentralization”, she estimated in her 2016 article, which resembles a ministerial roadmap. Namely, more local management of educational establishments, ensured by local authorities, aiming for greater social diversity and a reduction in educational inequalities.
On the human resources side, the former rector called for greater autonomy for schools in the recruitment of teachers. “Even if a higher level of regulatory power is required, it is the head of the establishment who is the guarantor of the unity and success of his team. Should we go further?”, she asked. Nicole Belloubet also wanted to entrust the regions with the management of agricultural and professional sectors. “For years the State has been trying without much success to revalorize vocational education whose image remains as degraded as ever, even though it attracts a significant number of young people”she justified.
To support her point, the former sage did not hesitate to cite the example of the 35 other OECD member countries where, for the majority, “sole management by the State becomes an exception, as does the centralized and detailed design of school programs”, she notes. Without entirely calling this State into question, since she maintained that “concrete support” to educational establishments “eman[ait] competitions from both the State and local authorities.
No “abolition of the Ministry of National Education” on the agenda, therefore. But in 2024, is the decentralization of the French school system part of the minister’s future projects? Requested by franceinfo, the office of the Ministry of National Education did not respond to our request.