The goal announced by the Council of State is clear: to guarantee equal opportunities for pupils who cannot all do school at home in the same way.
He therefore decided to cancel the compulsory school leaving exams. That is to say, officially, the “final examinations of the certificate of completion of secondary studies (11th year)”. He announced it this Friday morning.
The 7,773 students concerned will ultimately be assessed on the marks they obtained until March 13. Cesla Amarelle, the Socialist State Councilor at the head of the Training Department explains this cancellation by the impossibility of organizing them in good conditions. All the more so by respecting the social distance of two meters and the directives of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).
Equal opportunities
“The periods before the exams are very important,” adds Cesla Amarelle. However, we find ourselves in a completely new situation of distance education and not all students learn in an identical way in this situation. It is unrealistic to think that our students can all prepare in the same way for an exam session, even if the material was identical and stopped on March 13. Distance education is experienced differently, both for family and technical reasons (internet connection, printer, etc.). “
She underlines that the examinations at the end of compulsory education are a Vaud “specificity”, which the other cantons do not know.
No vacation
But canceling exams doesn’t mean that grade 11 students will have nothing to do. The resumption of classes scheduled for May 11 by the Federal Council will not be the beginning of a period of precaution and the school continues.
Because the goal is for students to maintain their ability to learn. “It is important for children, whatever their course afterwards, in apprenticeship or in the gymnasium,” continues Cesla Amarelle. Even without exams, we can continue with assessment instruments, without necessarily marks. ”
What about the students?
In the meantime, knowing that the grades stop on March 13 will cause some concern among students who were at the limit and who would have needed the second semester to raise their averages. The teachers also say so (read the box). For this, the government plans to relax the certification conditions for borderline cases, that is to say students who lack a few fractions of points to spend the year.
Cesla Amarelle wants to be reassuring: “Choosing to stop the notes on March 13 is generally rather in favor of the students, because most of them obtain better results during the first semester.”
The Training Department will give more details next week regarding the resumption of May 11. The Cantons are awaiting details from the Federal Council, which it should provide next Wednesday.
For maturity, Bern will have the last word
If the Canton has canceled all compulsory school leaving and oral examinations for gymnasians in the third year, it does not have the power to cancel the written examinations for gymnasians.
The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Directors of Public Education (CDIP) has asked the Federal Council to authorize the Cantons to cancel them if they wish. Note that Friborg is the only French-speaking canton to defend the maintenance of examinations for gymnasians. The federal government is expected to position itself next week.
Created: 24.04.2020, 22h24
–
