Uniform at school, level groups in middle school, stigmatization of students in difficulty… Gabriel Attal’s 8:30 am franceinfo

The Minister of National Education and Youth was the guest on 8:30 a.m. Franceinfo, Wednesday December 6, 2023.

Gabriel Attal, Minister of National Education and Youth, was the guest of 8:30 a.m. franceinfo, Wednesday December 6, 2023. Uniform at school, level groups in middle school, stigmatization of students in difficulty… He responded to Jérôme Chapuis and Salhia Brakhlia.

Uniform at school: a “large-scale experiment” will be set up

A “large-scale experimentation“wearing a uniform at school will be implemented with a certain number of establishments, announces Gabriel Attal on franceinfo.”I am divided on the question of the uniform and not yet convinced that it is a solution that would solve everything“, recognizes the Minister of National Education, who therefore wants to carry out a “large-scale experimentation“.

He wishes, “like many French people“, see what this “would give results in terms of school climate and in terms of raising the level of our students. I work with the local authorities concerned so that the experiment can be carried out without any outlay for the families concerned.“, he explains.

The objective? Measuring the impact »on authority at school, on school harassment, on questions of secularism“. The minister wishes “real research monitoring : If it is effective, we can have a real debate on the generalization of the uniform in France, but at least it will be done on a scientific basis.“, he concludes by announcing that more details will be revealed”very soon, between now and the holidays” the end of the year.

Level groups in middle school: “We are going to recruit teachers in French and mathematics”

Following the results of the Pisa study and the presentation of announcements for the school, the Minister of National Education announced an increase in the number of teachers in order to allow the establishment of level groups: “We will recruit teachers in French and mathematics“.

The objective is to “be able to reduce the number of students per class, particularly in the group of students with the most difficulties“, explains the minister without specifying the number of positions that will be filled, nor how recruitment will be carried out. Gabriel Attal admits, however, that there are “an issue of attractiveness of the teaching profession“, but for mathematics, “this is not the competition where we have the most difficulty recruiting“.

On the other hand, there will be “not necessarily“recruitments for the creation and implementation of”prep high schools“intended for students who will fail their secondary school certificate.”These are students moving on to high school. And so you have teachers in high school today who are responsible for welcoming them. So there will obviously be job creations“, specifies Gabriel Attal, “but it’s less of a subject than on level groups“.

“A very struggling student today, don’t you think he feels stigmatized?” : Gabriel Attal responds to criticism

“A student who is in great difficulty today, who is in a class with students who are not or who are less so, don’t you think that he feels stigmatized?“, reacts Gabriel Attal, after the criticism which followed the announcements of his “Shock of knowledge” on Tuesday. The National Union of Secondary Education (SNES-FSU) notably estimated that the level groups could “worsen inequalities“.”On the contrary, he will be in a group with students who, like him, have difficulties, and we will tell him that it does not matter, that the important thing is to progress, and we will explain to him how to work“, retorts Gabriel Attal, for whom the objective is to make everyone progress and “relaunch the educational elevator“.

One of the other key measures of the “Shock of Knowledge” is the facilitation of grade repetition, which has also been criticized. “It is better to complete primary school in 6 years than to leave in 5 years with gaps that you cannot then make up for.“, tackles Gabriel Attal. “No one seems to care about the self-esteem of a student who leaves first grade with serious shortcomings and who then goes on to experience 11 years of academic failure, which is allowed to slide from one year to the next, until ‘the moment he picks up“, he continues.

“In France we have a school system which reproduces social inequalities far too much, social inequalities which turn into educational inequalities.“, deplores Gabriel Attal, for whom the solution is to “move away from a form of standardization and support everyone according to their needs. It is the end of the uniform college, the one which does not take into account the heterogeneity of the level“, said the Minister of Education.

Exam notes: “We will probably have a success rate for the certificate and baccalaureate which will decrease compared to previous years”

Among the announcements made by the Minister of National Education on Tuesday to improve the performance of French students, Gabriel Attal announced the removal of the academic correction from the 2024 patent and baccalaureate sessions. In doing so, “I assume that we will probably have a success rate for the certificate and the baccalaureate which will decrease compared to previous years“, explains the minister.

The “academic correction” consists of bringing together a jury of professors who will compare the corrections and the markings of the different papers, to, in certain cases, smooth the markings in order to bring those which come close to the average mark closer to the average mark. “I hope that our exam results reflect the reality of the level of our students. And it is also recognition of the work and merit of the students who give their all year round to successfully complete their baccalaureate or certificate.“, specifies Gabriel Attal

Gabriel Attal wishes to defend a “school of sincerity“, that we “stop the hypocrisy“and that we”stop making families believe that their child can move to the next grade and succeed when that is not the case. We stop making students believe that they have the level to obtain their certificate when this is not the case.”

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Find the entire “8h30 franceinfo” interview from Wednesday December 6, 2023 :