Teaching strike called in collèges

TEACHERS in collèges are being called to strike tomorrow by all the main unions.

However, a spokeswoman for the main secondary level union SNES-FSU told Connexion it was unclear how big the walk-out would be.

“We hope that a large number of teachers will take part, but we don’t comment on figures before the strike day. All the main unions are taking part. The strike action relates to collèges especially, and we expect the largest number of teachers to take part there, though lycées are concerned as well.”

The strike is over reforms for collège (age 11-14) planned for the rentrée 2016.

They include stopping Greek and Latin options, closing classes bilangues and European sections, greater autonomy for schools and more ‘interdisciplinarity’. The latter refers to mixing up subjects, for example a lesson combining French with history. It is planned that Greek and Latin will be replaced by an ‘introduction’ to these languages as part of French lessons plus interdisciplinary sessions on ancient cultures.

SNES-FSU says more autonomy could result in more power to heads as opposed to the classroom teachers and will create greater disparities between failing and successful schools. “It risks destroying the framework of the national education system,” the spokeswoman said.

The union believes combining subjects is not suitable for France where the school day has always been divided clearly into set subjects at set times and says this is “being imposed on us without consultation with the teachers”.

As for the classes bilangues, this is likely to especially affect German teaching, the spokeswoman said. These 'bi-language' classes, where they exist, enable children to study two (rather than one) modern languages from the start of collège, in sixième – typically English and German. However the government says that as part of the reforms all pupils will do a second language from cinquième - a year earlier than at present when they usually do so from quatrième.

‘European sections’, which allow for more intensive than usual study of a modern language are judged too ‘elitist’ because they are said to appeal to well-off families. Some new interdisciplinary sessions may involve using a foreign language, the government says.

The spokeswoman said: “We want them to annul the decree putting the reform in place and have discussions on a different reform.”