It is above all that, despite the shock therapies (proof that they don't work,) they don'tno longer have money, and that, as with hospitals, they deal with the most urgent matters (additional information). Finally, it is an Anglo-Saxon country... And as in the United States, it is the reign of "every man for himself". Personally, I think on the contrary that we must pool resources, but be more severe on the results of teachers.
The United Kingdom extends the Free Schools and Academies revolution, opening primary education to the private sector.
The information did not filter in France, no major newspaper spoke about it. And for good reason, it is a real bomb for a country drugged in public schools and unable to think about academic freedom. England is, however, in the process of doing so.
A transformation into academies for all schools
During the presentation of the new budget, on March 17, the English Minister of Finance, George Osborne, announced the privatization of all public schools by 2020. This marks the completion of a process of decentralization and accountability started in 2010. When David Cameron became Prime Minister in May 2010, English schools were in a terrible situation. Faithful to his project of big society, the new government decides to reform the school by injecting more freedom, and not more statism. From the start of the school year in September 2010, the government has given the possibility of creating free schools. These are schools founded by parents, companies or associations, and financed by the State through a system similar to the education voucher. These free schools can recruit their staff, build their programs and organize the school year freely. The success is immediate since hundreds of free schools are created.
At the same time, the government is seeking to inject freedom into state schools. For this, it develops the status of Academy (Academies). These are public schools, financed by public money, but which have private management, with the same prerogatives as free schools (freedom of recruitment and pedagogy). This system is only valid in England, Scotland and Wales having a different school management.
England already has 2075 Academies in secondary, out of 3381 schools, and 2440 out of 16.766 in primary. The government's aim is therefore for all public schools in England to achieve this status in four years. This is how in six years, through the primacy given to freedom, the government of David Cameron has completely reformed the school, allowing both to make significant savings and to improve the educational level.
And in France ?
Let us recall that in France, in addition to the disastrous school results, the total expenditure on education amounts to 146 billion euros annually, that is to say on average 7760€ per pupil. What definitively twist the neck of the myth of free school. Several reports, including those of the Court of Auditors and iFRAP, have shown that private schools cost on average 40% less than state schools., for much better results. It is therefore time to abandon ideology and follow English pragmatism in granting freedom to schools, parents and teachers. The current government is not taking the path. We see him coming with his big clogs who, in the name of the fight against Salafism at school, is preparing a legal arsenal to limit the creation of free schools. Today, there are more than 700 independent schools in France (that is to say, non-contract), enrolling a total of 60 students, and more than fifty schools are created each year. These schools manage to recruit, while the National Education is faced with a shortage of candidates for competitive examinations and an increasing number of resignations, so that the ministry can no longer ensure the presence of a teacher in all classes. .
Why this fear of freedom?
If free schools are less expensive and more effective than state schools, why this refusal to grant academic freedom, why this reluctance to liberalize education? Opponents of freedom invoke social justice and equality, the great myths that are held up when it comes to justifying state control. Yet each time a sector of the economy has been freed up, it has resulted in cheaper and better service. Can we imagine going back to France Telecom's monopoly? Can you imagine removing free radios and returning to the time of the ORTF? Do we want to nationalize gas and electricity again, refound the Régie Renault and establish the monopoly of Air France? For more than thirty years, we have been able to taste the benefits of economic freedom. One of the last sectors to be privatized is education.
If the State wants to maintain its monopoly on the school it is only for ideological questions : it is a question of controlling the formatting of the children and of imposing the thought of the State. But ideology always collides with reality. Here, it is endemic illiteracy, financial waste, the intellectual drift of the school.
So, following the example of the English who have considerably improved their school system, let's privatize ours, granting autonomy to heads of establishments and freedom to teachers and parents.
To read on the same subject: the revolution of Free Schools and Academies UK
Source (s): Contrepoints.org via the Media Coverage from our anonymous contributor
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