- The Minister of National Education wanted to reopen schools this week to put students from disadvantaged areas on the way to school.
- In the northern districts, however, this demand was unsuccessful, and a minority is in class.
- Parents of students are paralyzed by health risks.
Four arrondissements, in the north of Marseille, whose population is equivalent to that of the city of Bordeaux. Nearly 30,000 students who attend schools in the priority education zone. And barely 909 schoolchildren who found their classrooms on Tuesday, according to data provided to 20 Minutes by elected officials from these sectors. In the northern districts of Marseille, as deconfinement begins, the schools are desperately empty. The physical return of students from these disadvantaged areas to class was however one of the key arguments of the Minister of National Education, who said again on Monday that he hoped through this "to bring back those who are the most distant from school ”during confinement.
But on the ground, the bet seems lost. In detail, "less than 500 children out of 20,000 enrolled" attend schools in the 13th and 14th arrondissements, according to the mayor RN of the sector and candidate for re-election Sandrine d'Angio. In the 15th and 16th neighboring districts, there are barely "409 pupils out of 11,000 children", according to Senator Samia Ghali, elected in this sector and also a candidate for municipal elections. "The government has missed its target," said the parliamentarian. He figured he didn't need a dropout. But volunteering is a failure! "
"People died in the neighborhood"
"In my school, we have between 5 and 10% of the workforce who were invited to return to class," deplores Sébastien Fournier, a teacher in the underprivileged neighborhood of La Busserine, in the 14th arrondissement, and local manager of the teachers' union. SNUipp-FSU 13 in the 13th and 14th arrondissements. In the schools around, we are between 5 and 15% of the school population concerned. There is a real problem of confidence in the general health situation. You know, the epidemic has been circulating in the neighborhood. People died. It creates legitimate concerns. "These are the areas where there are also many people at risk," says Samia Ghali. This is where we find diabetics, obesity, cardiorespiratory problems… ”
At the Oddo school, for example, in the 15th arrondissement, Amel, like the vast majority of parents for whom she is the school council delegate, refused to let her son find his class. "In the school, we had eight registrations on Tuesday, and only two came," explains this mother. I was afraid. Afraid that my son is infected or that he will bring the virus home. We still have a two year old baby. In addition, at school, they cannot play together. I think it's a bit like a prison… ”
"The program is far from over"
However, this mother is aware of the consequences of such a situation on her son's education. "Many children in the school did not even follow the homework transmitted by the teachers, sighs Amel. They find themselves with nothing, dropped into the wild. I'm devastated, it's dramatic. I fear for next year that the educational level, already very low in our neighborhoods, will be even lower. They are going to be very late. The program is far from over. This is why Amel decided to call on a private tutor for her young son, who receives tutoring in addition to home schooling. A luxury that the majority of families in the neighborhood cannot afford, already plunged into great misery because of confinement.
"Where the pupils are the least numerous in the classes, it is in priority education zones such as the northern districts, where they need school most," alarmed Virginie Akliouat, departmental secretary of the teachers 'union SNUipp-FSU 13. "These figures are very worrying, even if, as mayor, I understand the parents' concern," sighs Sandrine d'Angio. "I fear that we will lose a lot on the way, and I appeal to the government," says Samia Ghali. These students need to be provided with the right tools, a good Internet connection, and a computer. The problem is that there are technocrats who make decisions in offices. But we don't live in the world of Care Bears. "
Aware of the phenomenon, the Minister of National Education is optimistic, with an objective, according to statements on the set of CA Vous; "Roll up the sleeves", "reassure" and "convince parents"."But I won't change my mind," warns Amel. My son is eight years old. He is not mature enough to understand the barrier gestures, and we do not have enough information about this virus. "
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Deconfinement in Marseille: "Either we die from Covid-19 now, or asbestos in ten years", the thorny opening of the Félix-Pyat school
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- Marseille
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- Northern neighborhoods
- Coronavirus
- Deconfinement