183 classes in Paris will be closed at the start of the 2024 school year. The Paris education authority announced the elimination of 125 positions in preschool and elementary, and 128 full-time equivalents in middle schools and high schools next September. As a result, 125 classes are expected to close in the first degree and 58 in middle school, according to 20Minutes.
The rectorate justifies its plan by the decline in the population of Paris. According to the calculations of the academy, at the start of 2024, the schools in the capital should welcome 2000 fewer students in the first degree and nearly 1300 in the second degree. This reaffirms the strategy put in place last year, where more than 330 positions were already eliminated due to a decrease in the number of students.
While teachers, upset with the new Minister of Education and the controversy over “unfilled hours”, prepare for new days of mobilization, the city of Paris – both left and right – opposes the closure of its classes.
On the other hand, the education authority emphasizes the “very favorable” teaching conditions in the Paris academy, despite the staff reductions. The capital will benefit from the third highest student-to-teacher ratio in metropolitan France, with an average of 6.58 teachers for 100 students, compared to 6.03 at the national level, according to the education authority.
The academic inspection is regularly questioned about the closure of classes, as was the case recently in Haute-Vienne, where parents are mobilizing to “save the school teacher”. With symbolic and humorous actions, reported Le Parisien. Parents protested against the announced elimination of a teaching position at the start of 2024 by publishing an ad to sell the class on Leboncoin.fr: “This superb, bright classroom in perfect condition is sold with all its educational materials: tables, chairs, board, benches, books, markers and pencils, everything remains EXCEPT THE TEACHER!”, as seen on the classified ads website.
