Uni students slam 'unfair' policies

A DOZEN universities in France are imposing unfair rules that are denying students the chance to succeed, national students' union Unef has complained.

The union says there are inconsistencies in the way degree courses are assessed and variations in the number of teaching hours.

Unef claimed that 12 universities were breaking the law by denying students the chance to re-sit exams.

It also condemned marking systems which made it impossible for students to get back on track after one bad score. Unef said some universities failed students who scored less than 8/20 in a particular module - failing to take into account their average performance over the year.

Union president Jean-Baptiste Prévost said: "If you are weak in one subject, you cannot go forward to the next year, even if you are excellent at everything else."

Higher Education Minister Valérie Pécresse launched an initiative 18 months ago aimed at helping more students pass their first year, including five extra teaching hours a week and personalised tuition.

However Unef said many universities had failed to put these measures in place because of a lack of resources.

It said only a third of universities have hit the target of five extra hours a week and only a quarter have added small group tuition sessions to the timetable.

Among the universities singled out in the Unef report were Avignon, Toulouse 1, Lyon 3, Bordeaux 1, Poitiers, Montpellier 2 and 3, Nîmes, Angers, Aix-Marseille 3 and Rouen.

Avignon has denied Unef's claims. The university says it scrapped re-sits in favour of a system of continual year-round assessment which it believes is fairer.

In other news, about 400 students in Lille have gone on rent strike to protest about their dilapidated 1960s accommodation.

They are refusing to hand over February's payment - between €136 and €198 - until the university agrees to scrap next year's 4% rent rise and sticks to a promise to build new housing.

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