The rector of the Montpellier academy, Sophie Béjean, returns in particular to the latest announcements by Emmanuel Macron and the high number of classes closed due to Covid.
1 On the presidential announcements
“ What matters, above all, is how his message has been received by students and the university community. He was eagerly awaited! It was a message of gratitude to the students who, what is missing a lot is the social bond. The damage that this situation can cause (dropping out …) led Emmanuel Macron to make these announcements like the menus for one euro and the return, very gradual and very careful, to universities.“
And Sophie Béjan to close: “Although some hoped for more, these are highly appreciated measures “.
2 On the menu for one euro
“Meals at regional centers for university and school works (Crous) were already offered at a social rate which has been frozen in recent years at € 3.25. Since September 1, scholarship students already had access to meals (two per day) at one euro. This was very useful since close to 350,000 meals were distributed! And since the last confinement in November, they have taken the form of packed lunches still at this price. In Occitania, these meals are distributed roughly equally between the two academies of Montpellier and Toulouse. “
And the rector to specify further: “With this announcement, we may double or even more the number of meals distributed each day. I would also like to salute here the work of the staff of the CROUS who have mobilized and also with associations such as the Food Bank. But also in student residences to ensure a local presence. Reference student staff have also been recruited. There have been 159 since September in the two Crous, in addition to field staff, to meet this need for socialization.“.
3 On the possible room for maneuver available to the rector
“They are for social assistance (emergency aid). But sometimes, students ignore their rights to them. The committees of the two Crous meet every week for this. In Montpellier, 4,500 students benefited from it. The gradual return to universities will be very valuable. This is already the case, in small groups of ten, since early January for the most fragile, who are also accompanied by tutors. For Occitanie, there are 1,500 student jobs and partnerships with associations “.
4 On the number, the highest in France, of classes closed because of the virus
It’s a fact: this Friday, January 22, the Montpellier Academy was the one where there were the most closed classes (forty-two) due to Covid. A figure very different from those of the overall health situation. To explain this dichotomy, Sophie Béjean puts forward an explanation. “It is probably thanks to greater caution on our part and rigorous application of the measures. Because in reality, the positivity rate is rather lower than the national average. But sometimes we decide to close a class for one case instead of three as the rule dictates. After that, it also depends on whether personnel are concerned. And if so, whether it is then still possible to operate an establishment. Without school life or without school meals, it cannot “turn”. This is also why we had to close a college: contact cases had been observed among catering staff. So that’s a lot of closed classes at the same time! But we prefer to isolate earlier than to see a real home in an establishment afterwards!“
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