Everything is going just fine, Madame the Marquise!
This already old refrain is on the verge of becoming the right’s favorite tune, both locally and nationally, as an attempt to mask the failure of their policies, which continue to wreak havoc.
After the verses of budgetary self-satisfaction, which are as inappropriate as they are indecent considering the consequences for the vast majority of French people who are being squeezed to fund policies that serve the affluent, the start of the school year brings yet another round of satisfaction that relies more on positive thinking and communication than on the actual experiences of students, their families, and the National Education staff in the schools.
That the Chairman of the General Council feels the need to communicate about what he calls the Department’s “exceptional effort” towards secondary schools might have something to do with upcoming elections, but sadly, the actual numbers tell a different story, especially in an area that remains a primary responsibility of the Department:
Firstly, regarding investment, over the past two years, the cumulative decrease in investment is around 30 million. It’s hardly something to boast about, especially when considering that the Mûriers secondary school in La Bocca, a Pailleron-type school supposed to be phased out following the vote on the Future Colleges Plan in 2004, as well as the Victor Duruy secondary school, see their compliance updates postponed each year when it was supposed to occur by 2010 according to the plan.
This is even more concerning when, in the operating budget, the decrease in the maintenance and repair budget compared to 2008 is 2.3 million euros, a drop of 43.35%!
There is nothing to be proud about, especially when the Chairman of the General Council doesn’t utter a word about the countless job and class eliminations planned for this school year, already alarming the entire educational community.
We understand why he prefers to remain silent on this serious attack, which is part of a policy of continuously reducing resources allocated to the National Education, implemented by the governments he supports by voting on budgets in the National Assembly, because as the popular saying goes, silence gives consent.
Our youth, students’ parents, and all the staff of the National Education have every reason to mobilize against this outrage, and we will stand by their side in this battle to restore the school’s means for success.
They all surely deserve a different policy, one that prioritizes educational values over stock market values!
Noël ALBIN – Francis TUJAGUE – Jacques VICTOR
Communist General Councillors of the Alpes-Maritimes
