It was expected, but it’s now official. Emmanuel Macron wants to make school a “major project” of the next five-year term if he is re-elected, he explained, Thursday March 17, in his programmatic speech. “ We have invested a lot, and yet things are not moving fast enough. Investments are not enough. We must give back the possibility of adapting the solutions to the realities on the ground”, he believes after five years in office. And to notice: Today, teachers don’t feel paid and recognized enough, families face absenteeism and are unhappy, children lack confidence, and we continue to have poor results” in international comparisons of education systems such as PISA.
To remedy this, the candidate proposes a “change of method” based on extensive consultation over several months with all stakeholders – teachers, parents, students, associations, local authorities – in order to “to mobilize energies differently”. A development that contrasts with the past five years marked by a growing mistrust of teachers towards their minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer.
If Emmanuel Macron displays the will of a ” collective work “, it sets specific objectives for this consultation. The candidate proposes “a new pact” to teachers. The increase “substantial” of their remuneration will be conditional on the acceptance of new assignments, first and foremost the replacement “systematic” absent teachers. Further follow-up of pupils, help with homework or closer links with extracurricular activities are also mentioned. Current teachers will have the choice whether or not to accept this new contract. For those entering the profession, these new conditions will be mandatory. Six billion euros will be devoted to payroll out of the 12 billion investments allocated during the five-year term to education and youth in the program.
Dropping teachers’ salaries
Emmanuel Macron thus assumes different levels of remuneration depending on whether the teachers are volunteers or not. A red rag for many unions, for whom the profession has already become heavier and more complex in recent years and who expect wage increases without compensation. The salary of teachers, particularly at the beginning of their career, has fallen in recent decades. It corresponded to 2.3 times the minimum wage in 1980, compared to 1.2 in 2020.
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