Much To Learn From French School System By K.J.S. Chatrath

 

 

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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