University of Paris Opposes Education Reforms
Strikes May Continue at 20 of France's 83 Universities
Apr 30, 2009
For the last couple years, President Nicolas Sarkozy's government has been engaged in a wide slew of university reforms. The number of teachers has decreased, to cut costs, by not finding replacements for retired teachers. The government is also planning to increase tuition, according to the Anglo-Saxon model, as part of a process that hopes to make French teachers more accountable and universities more market-based.
The latest change, passed during the second week of spring break when strikers were away or not striking, is related to modifying the status of teachers and researchers. Many opponents of university reform were hoping the government would scrap or at least seriously amend the proposed changes.
Now, despite the Council of Ministers' decision to go ahead with the changes to the status of teachers and researchers, a quarter of France's universities seem set to continue their strikes, which have kept their universities' classrooms empty since February. According to Le Parisien from April 22, over 57,000 university teachers and researchers will be affected by the changes, which modify a decree of 1984.
More Strikes in Paris?
The University of Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV (the Sorbonne), a symbolic center of the resistance to President Sarkozy's university reforms, held two General Assemblies on Monday the 27th to decide whether the strike would continue. The first General Assembly of teachers and researchers voted overwhelming in favor of a continuation of the strike, with 185 for and 5 against. The second General Assembly of mainly students also voted to continue the strike, with 620 for and 45 against.
The University President Professor Georges Molinié's Communiqué du President of April 27 states that "The situation after the return from spring break has changed little." He goes on to explain that "With respect to the validation of the semester, and in effect the school year itself, we can still complete it, conforming to the proposed solutions indicated in previous communiqués. But if we are unable to hold classes in May or June, it is clear that the semester and the school year cannot be validated."
Off Schedule
In effect, the longer the strike continues, the less likely it will be that classes can be made up in summer - and the more likely the school year will be lost, delaying graduations and affecting many students' job plans for summer work or entrance into the work force. Now the biggest question is how will schools with strikes make up nearly an entire semester of missed classes?
