On the 11th May, the baccalauréat exams started for 520 000 students in France. An essential milestone for measuring the general level of students, which is estimated weaker every year. Educational equality is an added problem, and one that today constitutes a determining factor in the success of the education system. France, amongst all the main OECD countries, is currently the one where connection and social background bear the most influence on students’ success.
The last five years have been particularly difficult, marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, home schooling, different protocols, but also by an even more tragic event, the murder of Samuel Paty (a French secondary school teacher who was killed and beheaded by a Muslim in 2020, after allegedly showing the Charlie Hebdo cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammed to his students). Furthermore, the recent nomination of Pap Ndiaye as Minister for Education was a source of many comments and criticism and has therefore increased the complexity of future ministerial work.
Read the the complete article and the newsletter HERE.