2023-07-17 22:15:15
The baccalaureate, another relic of the colonial heritage which is still hard to get rid of, actually illustrates the limits of an unequal education system. Between the gap that separates public schools and private educational institutions on the one hand, and, on the other, the favoritism maintained by the State of certain so-called excellent public schools to the detriment of the vast majority of educational establishments persists the existence of a multi-tier school system that does not offer the same chances of success to all students. It is like a society marked by its deep inequalities at different levels.
The spotlight is always on successes and we forget those who have been negatively evaluated in the space of a few days. Family, loved ones and the state proudly take credit for each achievement. So much the better. In case of failure, only one culprit is singled out: the student. He is often criticized for not having worked hard enough. And yet…Was he placed in the same conditions of success as another student who experienced neither a strike nor a shortage of teachers throughout the school year? Did he complete all the school days and study in a healthy, safe and conducive environment for learning? Does he have all the necessary help, both human and academic, in the event of academic difficulties? Have the parents been sufficiently equipped to meet the educational support needs of the child? It is unfair to issue a final school verdict in three days when the student has been floundering for several years in a failing school environment without any support.
In 2022, the director of the Baccalaureate Office was proud of a success rate that barely exceeded 50%. As usual, we once more applauded the most deserving, forgetting the other half left stranded, forced to resume an entire school year. For some, it’s the second or third attempt. In comparison, France recorded at Bac 2023, a success rate of 90.9%, according to the Ministry of Education.
It is a societal flaw to establish failure as normal. Think for example of the university where resuming a year or a semester for a student is still the best shared experience. The cult of excellence is accompanied by equality in the treatment of all citizens to allow the talents of each child to blossom, regardless of their social origin. Excessive media exposure of the few gifted students or the number of successful baccalaureate holders with honors does not hide the many flaws and injustices of a school system that excludes more than it participates in the inclusion of the most vulnerable. . Indeed, it is first expected from a State less sensitive to equal opportunities and aware of the very serious mission of education for a people to put in place all the conditions for academic success before clear customs. Otherwise, he will be totally responsible for all failures.
There is thus a staggering indifference close to a voluntary collective cynicism in leaving all the responsibility for a failure on the frail shoulders of a student barely out of adolescence, thinking that simple words of encouragement will suffice. A young man of barely 18 or 20 who begins his adult life with a crushing failure is a real blow to his self-esteem. We do not often measure the psychological extent of receiving a first slap at the dawn of life and sometimes being the well-hidden laughingstock of a society. The self-confidence of a people which one hopes will later be able to compete with the rest of the world is first built and forged on school benches.
In addition to the psychological consequences that might lead to a succession of failures, there is a state mediocrity in school governance to agree to spend billions annually to lead to failures…
When institutionalized practices give the same poor results, it is then necessary to pause and question the relevance of these practices. The heavy French colonial heritage, in its various ramifications, traps us in an atavistic immobility.
Elsewhere in the world, the baccalaureate, as it is lived and takes place in France as in its former colonies, does not exist. The end-of-course evaluations, in addition to their more human character, include dimensions that are more representative of the student’s real level throughout their schooling.
Lamine Niang
School Manager, Montreal
niang.mlamine@gmail.com
1689633150
#Injustices #selection #Lamine #Niang
