• The teacher recruitment crisis is raging, with the academies of Créteil and Versailles being the most affected.

  • In its latest report published on Wednesday, the Court of Auditors recommends that the rectorates can recruit teachers via a long-term contract (three to five years) in the academies in difficulty and the disciplines in tension.

  • An idea that puts off the unions of teachers, who see it as a weakening of the status of civil servant and a false solution to a real problem.

We have not yet tried everything to stem the teacher recruitment crisis.

This is what the Court of Auditors believes, which publishes a report on the subject on Wednesday.

Because the numbers are tenacious.

Last July, the Ministry of National Education announced that more than 4,000 teaching positions, out of a total of 27,332, had not been filled in the 2022 competitions. The two largest academies (Créteil and Versailles) are experiencing major tensions, especially in the second degree and to a lesser extent in the first.

And at the national level, certain disciplines are particularly affected by the disaffection of candidates (maths, German, letters, etc.)

A situation which forced the Rue de Grenelle to recruit 4,500 new contract workers at the last start of the school year.

In September, on France Info, the Minister of National Education, Pap Ndiaye, counted a total of 35,000 contract workers, representing “1% of the workforce in the first degree and 6.5 to 8% of the workforce in the second degree”.

“Direct recruitment based on diploma and interview”

This growing difficulty of recruitment, the Court of Auditors attributes it to a loss of attractiveness of the profession.

Reasons given by the Elders: “The decline in the number of students in certain university courses, (…) the degradation of the image of the teaching profession, its working conditions and its remuneration.

There is no question of giving up, however.

Pierre Moscovici, first president of the Court of Auditors, therefore proposes to experiment with a new way of recruiting for the profession of teacher in the academies in difficulty and in the disciplines most in tension.

This would take the form of “direct recruitment on the basis of a diploma and an interview, in return for an assignment to a specific position with the commitment to stay for the duration of the contract (from three to five years).

This is a medium-term contract,” he explains.

An idea that makes Sophie Vénétitay, the general secretary of the Snes-FSU jump: “This proposal establishes the use of contract workers as a lasting “solution” to deal with the recruitment crisis in our professions.

“For Stéphane Crochet too, this proposal from the Elders is a makeshift: “These targeted measures at school or establishment level to avoid global, and therefore costly, responses would be ineffective and dangerous: they would only increase the illegibility of recruitment channels and remuneration,”

"Attracting other audiences to the teaching profession"

In detail, it would be up to each rectorate to select these candidates, who would be recruited at master's level.

The idea is to first target students in the teaching, education and training professions (MEEF) who do not wish to take the competition.

And to also appeal to "students in the second year of a master's degree" in other disciplines and to "people in professional retraining".

New recruits would benefit from "additional training of 10 to 20 days", would be entitled to a tutor, to "more personalized monitoring by inspection bodies", or even to a partial release from activity (less courses to give) the first year.

At the end of this "super" contract, the teacher could request a permanent contract (CDI) or opt for another career.

According to Pierre Moscovici, this new way of recruitment “would attract other audiences to the teaching profession”.

What Sophie Vénétitay doubts: "The press largely echoes the precariousness of contract workers: late payment, breach of contract..."

The benefits for the main stakeholders

To justify their proposal, the Sages advance many demonstrations.

"More and more students choose to be contractual, especially in the second degree", they write, assuring that the new generation "does not envisage a full career as a teacher".

An argument that Sophie Vénétitay considers a bit easy: “Some “young” colleagues do not necessarily plan on an entire career in National Education, but rather than going through contractualization, it would be necessary to develop bridges between existing professions” , she believes.



According to Nacer Meddah, the president of the third chamber of the Court of Auditors, this device would allow "stability of assignment" to contract workers, whereas at present, they are recruited for one year.

And even if they return, they have no assurance of being assigned to the same establishment.

Towards a questioning of the status of civil servant?

One thing is certain: this idea of ​​the Elders will be all the more talked about since on January 24, Pap Ndiaye mentioned

to the National Assembly a new track of "recruitment of student teachers who would be tenured after five years" and which would concern only the first degree.

"It's a hypothesis we are working on," he added.

This leaves Sophie Vénétitay fearing a gradual weakening of the status of civil servant.

“We feel the political will behind it.

Emmanuel Macron has never hidden his hostility to the status which he considers incompatible with the “start up nation” spirit of flexibility”.

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