Education
Macron, Teachers Applaud ‘No Kid Left Behind’ Education Reforms
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Teachers and employment professionals are praising French President Emmanuel Macron’s education initiative intended to uplift children in disenfranchised socio-economic areas so they have a better chance at finding jobs.
After a 2017 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study on global education found that students in low-income areas in France had a smaller chance of moving up the socio-economic ladder than students in the 71 other countries it analyzed, Macron instituted educational reforms throughout the country. Macron’s reforms include cutting class sizes by half so students can learn more effectively and have increased individual attention. The changes also include compulsory education beginning at age three rather than six, and banning mobile phones in the classroom for older students. Under the new system, teachers will also encourage students to study foreign languages.
“No kid is left behind,” said teacher Sebastien Ducoroy, who said the new standards are working well, according to Reuters.
In addition to making changes among smaller local schools, Macron aims to do away with France’s national “baccalaureate” test that all students must take to enter university.
“From kindergarten to university, we’re changing everything,” Macron said in April, Reuters reported.
France has an 8.9-percent unemployment rate as of February. The U.S. has a 3.9-percent employment rate as of April.
“We clearly feel that the education system is changing, that those in charge of it realize that they need to not only educate citizens but also prepare young people for real life,” said Florence Poivey, who leads the education committee at France’s main employer group, Medef.
The changes have sparked division among the French, with some welcoming the changes as necessary reforms to better the country’s education system, and others complaining that French students will no longer participate in a nationally standardized curriculum.
The Ministry of National Education expects to hire 3,000 to 4,000 more teachers in order to cut classroom sizes. The department did not give an estimate on expected costs incurred by the reforms. The ministry budget, at $59 billion, is France’s largest government expenditure.
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