At the Simone Veil nursery in Rosny-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis, children have been forced to stay at home or be sent to other classes since the beginning of the year, due to the lack of unreplaced teachers. This situation is symptomatic of a national concern for teacher replacement, even more significant in ’93 than elsewhere.
A teacher not replaced, students without points of reference
For several months the parents of the PS1 pupils of the Simone Veil nursery have been trying to alert the Public Education Department. Their children’s teacher was absent 35.5 days out of 74 school days and was replaced on only 8.5 days. For the rest of the time, parents were asked to look after their children, or they were sent to other classes.
“ The problem had already arisen last year with this teacher, who has health problems that require regular absences » explains Cindy, mother of a student in the small section. “ We understand and don’t judge, but we were caught by surprise. The children are disoriented, in a panic, they have no points of reference for the first year of school. They go to other classes where they do colors or puzzles, they are left alone a bit, there isn’t even ATSEM. Learning happens on the fly, it is essentially the extracurricular that has the task of compensating a little for the lack of teachingparticularly about learning to live in a community. »
In question, the failure to replace the teacher. “ We sent several letters to all parents, the director and the inspector. The director is helpless, the inspector refers him to the Directorate of National Education Departmental Services, which does not respond. We are completely abandoned to ourselves, parents are anxious. » regrets the student’s mother. “ We ended up posting on LinkedIn and Facebook and the next day we had a replacement for two weeks. But when we return from vacation it will be a dead end again, we will have a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. »
The resources allocated by the state are lacking
“The situation in Rosny reflects what is happening throughout the department,” explains Louise Paternoster, co-secretary general of CGT Educ’Action 93. “ There is a lot of failure to replace, which is putting public schools in chaos. The State places itself in illegality, because it has the obligation to guarantee the continuity of the public service, but when there is no replacement there is no continuity. Seine-Saint-Denis students lose a year of school time between kindergarten and high school due to failure to replaceaccording to a survey conducted by FCPE 93. »
“ National education has lost 80,000 places since 2009, and it is very evident in the 93. We have many examples, I am a part-time teacher in the main section and I have not had any extra ones in the first two weeks of September. In a high school, final year students have not taken physics and chemistry for 3 months, this creates dropouts. The Ministry is not even able to replace maternity leave », he adds.
Why is this national problem of teacher replacement even stronger in Seine-Saint-Denis? “The State gives less money in ’93, the most gifted institution in the department is less gifted than the least gifted in Paris. With other unions we interviewed schools about their working conditions and their needs, there are 2,000 teaching positions missing in the department, we ask for a collective budget of 358 million euros for these creations of positions. »
In addition to the lack of financial resources allocated to the department, there is also a recruitment problem in the Créteil academy, on which Seine-Saint-Denis depends. “ Every year, for primary education, the academy has to hold a second competition to recruit a sufficient number of people, or sometimes even a third competition in certain years. This allows you to recover candidates rejected by other academies », explains Paul-Arthur, teacher and member of Sud-Éducation 93.
Limited action levers
Desperate for the situation, the parents of the students of the Simone Veil school decided to occupy the class, without success. “ We contacted the senator, the deputy, the rectorate, the ministry, Gabriel Attal, the general council, the department, no one responded to us. The parents are tired and disengaged, we only had nine parents present to block the lesson. »
What solution for these families who are exhausted?
“Legal appeal is possible, the administrative court has already recognized that the State has not fulfilled its mission of putting students in classrooms, in the city of 93 in recent years. » says Paul-Arthur. “But we also need to mobilize. We are planning a strike that will start at the beginning of the school year, February 26th, and parents are welcome, it would be helpful if they came. They can come to the Assembly general which will take place in Aulnay-sous-Bois on the morning of the 26th. »
“ What we want is equality » sums up Louise Paternoster. “ 93 is a department of guinea pigs. What is happening here will happen across the country within 5-10 years.starting from the surrounding departments. »
Do you like our articles? You’ll love our newsletters! Sign up for free on this page.
Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
