Back to school: recruited contract workers, "frictional absences" ... Ndiaye takes stock

Europe 1 with AFP 4:22 p.m., September 12, 2022

The start of the school year has been "good", said the Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye on Monday, announcing also that 4,500 additional contract workers have been recruited to cope with the shortage of new teachers.

"The start of the school year was good (...) the start of the school year went well," said the minister on franceinfo, refuting the alarmist findings and the figures put forward by the main secondary school teachers' union.

4,500 new contract teachers

The Snes-FSU argued last week that there was a lack of at least one teacher in a fixed position in 62% of establishments out of a sample of 554 establishments.

These are "not figures that I confirm", he commented, conceding however some "frictional absences", "problems to be resolved": "it's lace that the rectorates take care of".

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- Back to school: "The recruitment of contract workers cannot compensate" for the lack of teachers

To cope with the shortage of new teachers and ensure its promise of a teacher in front of each class at the start of the school year, Pap Ndiaye indicated that 4,500 new contract teachers had been recruited for this school year, out of a total of 35,000 non- holders employed by the National Education.

“Fewer contract workers, that is our objective”, however advanced the Minister of National Education who specified that an exceptional recruitment competition would take place in the spring of 2023 for the first degree.

Confirmation of the minimum salary of 2,000 euros net

In view of a revaluation of the teaching profession, Pap Ndiaye confirmed the transition to a minimum salary of 2,000 euros net for teachers at the start of their career from September 2023 but also increases for teachers in "mid-career" on the same date.

Targeted by Zemmour, Pap Ndiaye denounces the words of a "professional controversy"

Education Minister Pap Ndiaye on Monday called Éric Zemmour a "controversial professional" after his speech on Sunday warning against a "great indoctrination" of students at school.

"These are the words of a controversial professional who does not think of the interests of children, but who thinks of his political career, which is also in bad shape", said Mr. Ndiaye on franceinfo.

Eric Zemmour made a long development on the school on Sunday in a back-to-school meeting, asking his supporters to establish a "national network of vigilant parents" supposed to "report the aberrations of which his children are victims at school", particularly on gender issues which are the subject of recurring controversies fueled by the right and the extreme right.

"It does not interest me," retorted the Minister of National Education.

The minister also announced a “conditional increase linked to additional tasks that we will offer to volunteer teachers from October”.

Emmanuel Macron had proposed Thursday a "pact for teachers" including additional missions, such as individualized monitoring or supervisory tasks.

Pap Ndiaye clarified that these missions could integrate tasks that some teachers are already doing.

The Minister of National Education is facing a major recruitment crisis and the construction of salary increases.

The profession is experiencing an unprecedented attractiveness crisis, with more than 4,000 unfilled positions this year in teacher competitions in the country (out of 27,300 open positions in the public and private sectors).