What are the presidential candidates offering for students?

• Each pretender to the Elysée has proposals for higher education in his bag.

• While the first round of the presidential election will take place this Sunday, April 10,

  20 Minutes

  has sifted through the programs to make a comparison.

• Parcoursup, registration fees, student accommodation… These are some of the topics covered.

Three out of ten French people (30%) are under 25 years old.

And during the last presidential election, in 2017, only 62% of 18-24 year olds slipped their ballot into the ballot box in both rounds of the ballot.

A figure that could be lower this year according to several pollsters.

To limit damage, all the candidates have dedicated a chapter of their program to Higher Education, and

has screened their proposals.

Create places in the superior

“Faced with the massification of higher education, the demographic shock it will suffer until 2025 and the extension of studies, several candidates, generally on the left, believe that it is urgent to create places.

Especially since for two five-year terms, the resources allocated to universities have not been sufficient to create places in the courses targeted by baccalaureate holders, ”observes the sociologist and educational economist Hugo Harari-Kermadec, also professor at the University of Orleans.

Some contenders for the Elysée do not put forward a figure, such as Anne Hidalgo (PS) and Jean Lassalle (Let's resist!), who only declare that they want to open places in the sectors in tension.

Or like Emmanuel Macron (LREM), who wants to develop “more short and professionalizing courses”, namely the BTS, BUT, pro license.

On the other hand, Yannick Jadot (EELV) has ambitious quantified objectives: "We will create up to 100,000 places in the first year by the end of the mandate, in particular in short courses in higher education preparing for jobs in the transition (BTS and IUT), as well as the sectors of the health and social professions”.

At the same time, it aims to hire 10,000 teacher-researcher positions.

Fabien Roussel (PCF), too, thinks big: "Four new universities will be built in the next five years, a recruitment plan for 10,000 teacher-researchers will be implemented", he explains in his project.

When Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) aims to create 30,000 positions in universities to support the arrival of new students.

Reform or remove Parcoursup

"It's

career guidance, but without immunity totem!

says Fabien Roussel about Parcoursup.

And he is not the only one to rail against the assignment platform in the superior.

Like him, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Yannick Jadot want him dead.

A sharp criticism explained by Hugo Harari-Kermadec: “This is one of the first major reforms of Macron's five-year term, a marker of his neoliberal policy providing for competition between students.

It generates weeks of stress in families, even for students who apply for training that is not in tension.

Roussel's and Jadot's desire to allow all high school graduates to access the courses of their choice also made the sociologist of education Jules Donzelot react: "It's financially unfeasible,

Other candidates do not want the disappearance of Parcoursup, but only its evolution.

Like Emmanuel Macron, who wants more transparency and the creation of histories where the number of people who have graduated from training and their conditions of integration will be displayed.

Or Éric Zemmour (Reconquête!), who wants to "make the selection algorithms transparent", or even Valérie Pécresse (LR), who wants to make public the local algorithms of Parcoursup, the success rates for each sector, the integration rate… She also wants to put in place “a principle of “progressive selection”, with entry into the license with prerequisites by sector and then a real selection at the entrance to the master 1”, summarizes her program.

“Some candidates advocate a meritocratic system of access to university.

They fully accept the idea of ​​student selection,” comments Hugo Harari-Kermadec.

Raise or lower registration fees

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (Debout la France) wants universities to be free, just like Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Because even if the registration fees have the reputation of being low in France, they are very variable, underlines Hugo Harari-Kermadec: "For ten years, the trend has been on the rise in certain courses, in particular in masters and in certain well-known establishments (University of Paris-Dauphine, Sciences Po Paris, Paris II, etc.). wants to increase it "because public higher education is financed by French taxes", he justifies himself.

Create student accommodation

The candidates are playing one-upmanship in this area.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon plans to build 15,000 university accommodation per year, Marine Le Pen (RN) 20,000, Fabien Roussel 100,000.

And Jean Lassalle wishes to “develop intergenerational housing, factors of social cohesion between the elderly, who are often isolated”.

If this theme emerges, it is not without reason, according to Hugo Harari-Kermadec: “Emmanuel Macron had promised 60,000 student accommodation over the five-year term, he only produced half of them.

And the Covid-19 crisis has underlined the precariousness of students”.

Note that Marine Le Pen wishes to establish a national priority for access to student housing.

Develop learning in higher education

This is the wish of Valérie Pécresse, Emmanuel Macron, Marine Le Pen and Anne Hidalgo.

The latter would even like the work-study program to become “the rule rather than the exception” for higher education.

While the president hopes to generalize the alternation in professional license and simplify "the procedures for companies and young people".

Marine Le Pen wants to introduce a “learning cheque” of 330 euros for 18-25 year olds who choose this sector or work-study training.

And for the training company, “these are 2,750 or 4,000 euros which will be rewarded each year for its efforts in favor of the professional integration of our young people.

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Which is not without risk, according to Hugo Harari-Kermadec: “Work-study training can have a windfall effect for companies that can use young people as cheap labour, without hiring at the same time.

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Presidential 2022: What is the candidate program for young people?

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• Society

• Presidential election 2022

• Higher Education

• Student

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