They are free electrons in the French education system. The 1,800 private schools without contract do not receive public funds, are not obliged to follow the programs, and their teachers are not necessarily qualified. But they must allow children to acquire knowledge of the common core of skills. These establishments are inspected from the first year of their operation, and other inspections may be organized thereafter.
In recent years, these denominational schools or providing alternative pedagogy have experienced significant development, and new ones have even emerged because the demand is strong. But if some enjoy a good reputation, others hit the headlines because they do not respect the rules of the Republic or have very significant flaws, which sometimes leads the prefects to decide on administrative closures. To see more clearly in this very diverse educational landscape, the National Committee for Secular Action (Cnal), an organization bringing together in particular the union Unsa education and the federation of parents FCPE), carried out a major investigation, revealed this Wednesday.
An extensive investigation that lasted a year
For a year, the organization obtained academic inspection reports on this type of establishment, which are not intended to be made public. The Cnal was only able to obtain 164, or around 9% of the total, with some administrations reluctant to provide this information. “For Muslim, Jewish and Steiner-Waldorf schools, we got few reports,” says Remy-Charles Sirvent, general secretary of Cnal.
These data, which concern in particular 14 schools of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (traditionalist Catholic movement breaking with Rome), 45 Montessori schools and 23 Catholic establishments outside the contract, cannot give rise to generalizations. But they shed light on certain excesses. “Only 3 reports, out of the 164 we studied, are positive. And more than half of the others report serious breaches,” says Stéphanie de Vanssay, national councilor at Se-Unsa.
Obvious educational deficiencies in some places
First on the pedagogical aspects. Half of the reports concerning the schools of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X point to the use of very obsolete textbooks, and one of them the complete absence of textbooks. In the majority of cases, media and information literacy is not offered, nor is internet access. Moral and civic education is often replaced by religious instruction. “The hard sciences are neglected there,” says Stéphanie de Vanssay. “And certain parts of history and geography are revisited according to ideology,” she underlines. In one of these schools, “the role of Vichy in the extermination of the Jews is silenced, and this genocide is not mentioned besides in the treatment of the Second World War”, indicates for example, the report.
Of the 23 non-contract Catholic establishments studied, “too many are those which do not provide moral and civic education in a satisfactory manner and therefore do not allow pupils to acquire the knowledge and skills giving them the possibility of emancipating and build a critical mind,” says the survey. The use of digital technology is non-existent in several establishments. Safety and hygiene problems are also pointed out. For the 45 Montessori schools surveyed, “EPS is little taught. Little room is made for argumentation and critical thinking. Digital is underinvested. And some schools do not assess the students, ”notes Yannick Kiervel, national adviser at Se-Unsa. As for the recommendations of the inspection reports, they have not been followed up in several structures.
Ways to change things
Faced with these shortcomings, the Cnal believes that there are solutions to better regulate these establishments. “We should move from a declaration system when opening a school outside the contract to an authorization system, as exists for family education,” said Remy-Charles Sirvent, secretary general of the Cnal. And according to him, the educational project of the establishment should be part of the file. Regarding the controls carried out a posteriori, there is also progress to be made, according to Stéphanie de Vanssay: “Currently, around 20% of the controls are unannounced. For the others, the establishments have several weeks to prepare for it”.
In the event of strong drifts after the opening of a school, the Cnal also believes that it would be necessary to hit harder. By allowing the prefects to pronounce the closure of an establishment when the essential acquisitions and the respect of the values of the Republic are “failing”. As for the families who would be tempted to enroll their children in these schools, the Cnal recommends that they ask to consult the inspection reports. If the establishment refuses, they can make a request to the Academic Inspectorate or contact the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents (Cada).
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