In France , there exist various types of schools differentiated by their mode of administration: public education, private education under contract with the State or private education except contract . These various establishments exist as well on the level of the nursery schools and primary educations as on the level of the colleges and colleges (general secondary education or technique).
The public education is free and laic (subject to the particular statuses of the Alsace, the the Moselle, and some TOM). The establishment has obligation to accommodate the children living in the zone which is allotted to him by the Report card, that they are of French nationality or not.
Private education under contract has partially similar obligations, since the teaching personnel is remunerated by the State. The establishment often requires a participation of the families to help with the financing of the real goods and to remunerate the other personnel. If the establishment is under contract of association - in opposition to the simple contract -, it also receives a contribution of the local government agency concerned, established according to the number of accommodated pupils. Many private establishments under contract belong to catholic teaching (more than 90%).
Private establishments except contract are rare, generally paying, often nondenominational. They are not fixed with the same obligations. A school is known as except contract when it is about an private establishment which does not have particular legal relations (contract) with the State out the application of the general legislation. Among the rare schools of this existing type in France, some put pursuant to the teaching methods innovating, others are denominational (Moslem women, catholics, Protestant women, sikhs or Jewish), and some are even held by the fundamentalist ones.
The whole of private establishments of teaching (of the nursery school to the post-baccalaureat) accommodates more than two million pupils, that is to say approximately 17% of the total staff complements.
Principle of the freedom of teaching in France
Current mode
In France, the education system arose essentially with the competence of the Minister for State education. There are however certain educational establishments which depend on other ministries, such those of the Agricultural training.
The mode of the freedom of teaching of the first and second degrees is mainly organized by the law Debré of December 31st 1959, which distinguishes three types of private educational establishments, according to their legal and financial relationship with the State, via the contractualisation:
-
private establishments except contract, which are free contents of the exempted lesson;
- private establishments under simple contract;
- private establishments under contract of association with the State (see below).
Chronology of the freedom of teaching in France
The question of the freedom of teaching in France is born at the beginning of the 19th century, following the introduction of the monopoly of the University of State on teaching by (1806).
Until the end of the 20th century, it is the object of sharp debates between holding of the monopoly of public education and the defenders of the freedom of choice of the parents and their children, who regard the freedom of teaching as a natural consequence of the freedoms of conscience, of expression and of association.
- May 10th 1806: law of creation of the Napoleonean University;
- March 17th 1808: decree defining the monopoly of the University on primary school education, secondary and superior;
- March 28th 1833: Law Guizot, founding the freedom of primary school education;
- March 15th 1850: Law Falloux, reinforcing the freedom of primary school education and founding that of secondary education;
- July 12th 1875: authorization of the creation of private faculties;
- September 28th 1951: law Marie, which makes it possible to make profit from purses of State the pupils of private education;
- December 31st 1959: law Debré (see supra ).
- June 1984: attempt at reform of Alain Savary, charged to put an end to secondary private education by the Socialist government. Following immense demonstrations, the project is withdrawn, and involves the fall of the government Mauroy.
The freedom of teaching belongs to the basic principles recognized by the laws of the republic (decision of the Constitutional council of the November 23rd 1977).
However, three laws, now codified with the Code of education, fix the framework in which private education can be exerted:
- law of October 30th, 1886 for primary school education,
- law of March 15th, 1850 for secondary education,
- law of July 25th, 1919 for technical education.
The current relationship between the State and private establishments as for them was fixed by the law of the December 31st 1959 known as “Law Debré”, also codified with the Code of education, Article L.442-1 and following.
Strictly speaking, the private education does not exist as such, the State manages relations with such or such establishment.
Conditions of creation of an private establishment of the first and second degree in France
The creation of an private establishment must be declared with the competent authorities. If the request is made by a foreign national (except European Union) it is necessary to obtain an authorization, after opinion of the academic Conseil of state education.
Private establishments prepare their pupils with the official examinations in general in order to obtain the diplomas delivered by the State, which has the monopoly of the ranks and academic qualifications.
The relationship between the State and private establishments under contract
The signature of a contract between the State and a private school, which will preserve its “clean character”, requires that teaching is made there “in the total respect of the freedom of conscience” and that “all the children without reference of origin, opinion or beliefs” have access there.
For private establishments under contract, the State takes in particular charges remunerations with them with the teachers of the classes concerned with the contract.
- the establishments under “simple contract”, which can be only elementary schools, are subjected to teaching control and the financial control of the State. Their teachers, called approved Masters, are employees of private law, having a work contract with their private establishment, although they are remunerated by the State.
- the establishments under “contract of association” are subjected to the rules and the programs of public education as regards teaching. The contract supposes that they meet a “recognized school need”. The teachers are either of the civils servant (permanent teacher of public education, very few), or of the contractual Masters (by far, most). The latter are subjected to the same requirements of diplomas as their counterparts of public education and recruited by distinct contests. They are remunerated by the State according to the same indicial grids. On the other hand, their retirements depend on the general scheme and complementary pension funds, which induces a difference as well in the net payment (stronger contribution rate) as in the rights to retirement (retirements usually definitely weaker).
- activities not registered in the official programs
- denominational activities
- the boarding school if there is a
- of it part of the personnel expenditure, that the fixed price of externat (versed contractual contribution local government agencies) is not always enough to cover, although the law provides that the operating expenses of the classes under contract of association “are dealt with under the same conditions as those of the corresponding classes of public education”.
- maintenance of the buildings (the establishments often touch subsidies for this budget heading, but which remains very limited taking into consideration need)
The control of the State on private establishments except contract
All private establishments (except contract or under contract) are subjected to a mode of inspection.
For the schools except contract, this inspection relates to:
-
titles required of the directors and the Masters,
- compulsory education,
- the obligatory education whose control was reinforced by a law of December 18th, 1998
- the respect of the law and order and the moralities,
- medical and social prevention.
On the other hand the administrative and financial aspect is not controlled.
Private establishments of higher education
There exist many private establishments of higher education, in particular in commercial matters.
Only the College S private proposing of the sections of high-level techniciens (STS) or of the preparatory classes than the universities (CPGE) can sign contracts with the State.
Private establishments of higher education can cooperate with public corporations to make it possible their students to pass the examinations of obtaining a national diploma (catholic institutes of Paris, Angers, Lille, Lyon, Toulouse, for example).
References
See also: Amorce= Articles to be seen:, Education system French, To create its school
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