Much
To Learn From French School System
By
K.J.S. Chatrath
THE French have done
well in spite of the devastation of the two World Wars and the French
educational system in general and the school system is particular have
contributed to it in no small measure.
One of the fundamental
reasons for the success of the French school system is the deep interest of all
French people, both students and parents, in their system of school education.
The Orientation Law of
1989 declares unambiguously that education is the first national priority for
France. This involvement also takes the form of the local civic body assisting
the schools say in the form of provision and maintenance of the school
buildings. The importance that France attaches to education becomes clear when
we notice that education accounts for the biggest chunk of the national budget
with approximately 21% of the budget earmarked for this purpose.
This importance given
to school education in France dates back to the days of Nepoleon. More recently
it has been the vision and farsighted- ness of Jules Ferry, who in 1881-82,
formulated the triangular concept of a compulsory, free and secular school that
is "une ecole obligatoire, gratuite et laique”.
France has been a
highly centralised country and it is easy to notice the impact of this
characteristic in the school educational field. Out of the three main
components of the school system infrastructure and buildings, recruitment and
pay of teachers, and curriculum - it is the responsibility of the community, be
it at the level of commune, municipality or region, to provide and maintain
buildings and other infrastructure of schools. The teachers are appointed and
paid by the state and they are government servants. This appointment is on the
basis a recruitment test organised by the state. In so far as the curriculum is
concerned, the guidelines called the "programmes" are prescribed by
the government. The broad framework of programmes is decided by the centralised
Ministry of National Education. Both students as well as their parents are
given a clear idea of the programmes when the educational session reopens.
Within this broader framework of the programmes, each institution is free to
prescribe its own textbooks.
Public schools and
establishements offer free education (free). Public education is expected to
be neutral in areas of religion, philosophy and politics (secular). It is
compulsory for all children in the age group of 6 and 16 (Compulsory). Only
the state has the right to hold public examinations and to give degrees and
university grades (state monopoly).
However, this state
monopoly does not cover private educational establishments run side by side
with those run by the state (Liberty). Lastly the local communes participate
with the Ministry of National Education in the running of the pub- lic
educational system (community participation).
The primary or
elementary level of education i.e. the first 5 years of school, is organised in
what are called the "ecoles" or Primary schools. The next stage
comprising four years is taken up in institutions called "colleges".
The last part of school education consisting of three years and leading to a
diploma of "Baccalaureat" (or "Bac" as it is commonly
called) is conducted in the "Lycees".
Any presentation of the
school education in France would be incomplete without mentioning the system
of pre-primary nursery schools called the "ecoloes maternelles". This
is an institution of which the French are justly proud of. After attaining the
age of 2, children start going to these schools. Present statistics indicate
that almost 100% of the children aged 3 frequent these institutions. The period
covered by the ecoles maternelles is 3-4 years. The children are encouraged to
feel free in the school atmosphere and are gradually introduced to various
group activities. There is a mild element of introduction of reading, writing
and basic arithmetic.
It is often said that
France has had two revolutions the first one of a political nature having taken
place in 1789 and the second after 200 years in 1989 in the sphere of
education. (Orientation Law of 1989). The Orientation Law of 1989 was presented by the then Education Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, who, is the Prime
Minister of France. In fact, it is the first comprehensive law on
school education in
France in about 100 years.
The French ideal has
always been that of a perfect balance of faculties -the ideal of
"L'honnete homme", the man who has a good all-round knowledge, an
all-round understanding: it is the ideal of general culture as opposed to
specialisation. One of the strong points of the system is its emphasis on
producing an all-round personality. A balanced training in various disciplines
is imparted to the students. Even the students who pursue vocational courses
have to compulasrily take examinations in subjects related to general studies.
For reaching the baccalaureat, the students must qualify, inter-alia, in
mathematics, physical sciences, biology and modern European languages, besides
of course, French. Since the past two decades, the study of phi- losophy has
been made compulsory for students of almost all streams of baccalaureat,
including technical baccalaureat. This is intended to focus on one of the basic
objectives of education to develop free thinking and a critical mind. The real
focus of education is to pre- pare for a life ahead rather than to prepare for
a living
Diagnostic evaluations
are an important innovation of the French school system. These are nation- wide
tests with the same question papers which are held after moving into the new
class. Loi d'Orientation 1989 has introduced 2 nationwide evaluations after moving
to the college and the lycee. These examinations give an opportunity to the
teachers to know the level of each student entering the college and the Lycee,
his strengths and weaknesses for individual attention. Another important difference
in the French and Indian high school examinations is that while in India the
senior secondary examination consists only of written exams in France the Bac
examination consists of written papers as well as a personal interview.
Even though France is a
predominantly catholic yet the secular character of the school education is
about 100 years old. No religious sign of any kind is allowed inside the school
premises.
First
published in The Tribune, Chandigarh, June 8, 1998
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