France’s New School Year: Implementing Reforms and Addressing Challenges

The new school year has begun in France, with around 12 million students returning to school, from nursery to higher education. This year, schools are witnessing major changes thanks to a set of new measures. The most notable of these changes are the experiment with uniform school uniforms in some schools and the implementation of “digital breaks” in several institutions.

Ban on Mobile Phones

A ban on mobile phone use is being implemented in 200 secondary schools this year as a pilot measure with plans to roll it out to all schools in France by January 2025. The measure requires students to leave their cell phones in lockers when they arrive at school and not use them throughout the school day, including recess, to reduce reliance on screens and reduce cyberbullying.

Group System

This year, attention is focused specifically on the middle schools, where a “group by level” system will be implemented in French and math for sixth and fifth grades. The measure aims to improve educational interaction among students according to their individual needs. Sixth and fifth grade students will be divided into groups in French and mathematics, and these groups will be formed based on their needs in these two subjects, with the possibility of moving between groups during the academic year.

School Uniform and Preparatory Classes

The new system in the French education system includes the implementation of uniform school uniforms in nearly a hundred schools. The uniforms were jointly funded by the state and local authorities and distributed free to students, reducing the financial burden on families. At the secondary level, new preparatory classes will be introduced, with at least one class allocated to each governorate.

National Union of Secondary Education

The National Union of Secondary Education is facing “a lot of uncertainty” as a result of the volatile political situation. Sophie Finetti, secretary general of the National Union of Secondary Education, warned that “this return to school seems different from others, not only because of the political crisis, but also because of radical changes in the education system, such as the implementation of the group system by level, which can reinforce social divides.”

Study Revealed the Decline in the Level of Education

A recent survey conducted by Opinion Way for the Hexaken Observatory last July showed that most parents and teachers feel that the level of education in classrooms has deteriorated over the past ten years. According to the survey, 85 percent of professors reported that teaching standards had declined, with 47 percent seeing the decline as “slight” and 38 percent as “major.”

France’s political crisis overshadows progress in educational process (AP)