The drop in school demographics will lead to the closure of classes in rural schools

Jean-Luc Boujon // Credits: Thibaut Durand / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP 9:00 a.m., February 18, 2024

A shortage of primary school students. The Ministry of National Education has announced that the next school year will be marked by a significant demographic drop which will lead to an unprecedented reduction in the number of students per class in primary education. According to calculations, 83,000 fewer students are expected. A situation which will lead to the elimination of 650 teaching positions and the closure of numerous classes throughout the country and mainly in rural areas. An observation that makes parents of students cringe, but also elected officials in these areas. Europe 1 went to Valsonne, a small village of 1,000 inhabitants, in Beaujolais (Rhône).

At the start of the next school year, the Valsonne school will only have five classes instead of six: two nursery schools and three elementary classes. A decision taken by the academy inspection which noted that the number of students would increase next year from 126 to 123. An astonishing situation, because the town, located 50 minutes from Lyon, is in full demographic expansion, suggesting that the drop in numbers is only temporary. 

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“A regrettable accounting logic” 

“National Education has an accounting logic that we can regret. This creates a feeling of abandonment of rural areas and this adds to the distance from public services, particularly in health,” laments the mayor of the town . For elected officials, this situation sometimes fuels a feeling of distrust towards public authorities. In the village, the annoyance caused by these closures is palpable.

“Classes are closed to us and as a result, we increase the number of students per class and we degrade learning conditions. This is the complete opposite of what we were promised at the start. So it’s "It's true that we are incomprehensible and also a little angry. We have the impression that they are trying to kill the villages", denounces Élodie, mother of three children who attend the Valsonne school. Parents and elected officials united to oppose these closures and defend their territory.