1,500 classes cut in primary schools
Minister says cuts will mean fewer pupils in each class – but union criticises his arithmetic
PRIMARY schools are to be hit with cuts that will mean 1,500 fewer classes starting in September’s rentrée.
Despite protests in towns and villages around France, education minister Luc Chatel confirmed “around 1,500” classes would be cut in primary education, with two-thirds being in élémentaire and the rest in maternelle.
He said the number of classes, at 245,000 across the country, was the same as four or five years ago but the average class size of 22 in élémentaire was now lower than the 23 pupils in the 1990s. There would also now be 25 in class at maternelle against 27 in the 90s.
Mr Chatel said there would be “more teachers and fewer pupils” than there were 15 years ago.
However, teaching union SNUipp-FSU challenged his arithmetic and said fewer classes and an increase of 4,900 pupils meant an increase in class size.
It denounced his plans to cut 9,000 teaching jobs at the rentrée when France was already spending 15% less on education than its peers in the development organisation OECD.
The union also highlighted the effect on student teachers due to the plan for non-replacement of retiring teachers, saying that there would be just 3,000 starting this September as against 7,000 last year and 10,000 three years ago.
It called for a day of protest and a mass meeting outside the education ministry in Paris on May 18.
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