2023-05-22 15:01:00
By her own admission, in more than twenty years of mayorship, Jacqueline Galant (LB) had never experienced such a situation. In the three schools of the Jurbise entity, teachers are missing. Between health certificates, scheduled surgeries or even maternity leave, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to replace absentees.
The shortage of teachers obviously does not only concern the municipality of Jurbise; it is generalized. “Today, we are ringing the alarm bell. We have launched many calls for applications… But the positions remain vacant, no one is responding to them”, deplores the mayor. “This is unheard of and we fear that the situation will not be brighter at the start of the school year in September.
Within the municipal school Pierre Coran (Erbisoeul), there is currently a lack of the equivalent of two full-time jobs. “The children must be divided into various classes. As a result, the classes are more loaded, the teaching is less comfortable, the teacher has more work”, regrets Delphine Lebon, director of the establishment. “Today, a big part of my job consists of trying to find solutions in terms of schedules.”
Demotivation of teachers
And with the approach of the end-of-year exams, the situation is all the more worrying. “Parents worry, wonder how learning can be acquired in such situations. We will also hold a meeting at the start of the next school year on this subject in order to explain to parents the problem we are facing. For children, this is far from ideal. They need stability, a secure framework and not to change teachers every three months, for lack of a possible replacement.”
Because if a few hours can be supported by people who are not teachers but have a sufficient required title (for example an educator or a sports teacher), this solution cannot last over time. “I think that the many reforms of recent years have aggravated the problem and demotivated young people to embark on these studies. And the extension of the duration of the studies will not help us to recruit”, again laments the director.
Find solutions
For Jacqueline Galant and Stéphanie Hotton, alderman for education, it is urgent to find solutions. “We don’t have a miracle solution, but we are not used to sitting idly by when the well-being of children and the quality of our education are at stake”, they announce. “We are fortunate to have a single organizing authority for the three municipal establishments. So we can offer full-time teachers as soon as they come to us.”
And therefore a faster appointment. “We are also committed to finding a place in a crèche as quickly as possible for teachers who encounter childcare problems, because we know that this can be difficult. We are also considering a partnership with our local merchants, via a gift voucher formula, for example. A nice little boost when you start the job market and the salary payment does not always follow”, says the mayor.
Finally, contacts are made with retired teachers. “The idea is not to offer them to come back full time but to be able to count on them if they are available to provide a few hours in our schools. It is however a solution of last resort in order to relieve the teachers still in post. So many incentives that could push young teachers to choose Jurbise more than another municipality… If indeed the candidates respond to calls for applications.
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