the rector of the Paris academy denounces his policy and resigns

After the suspension of its project to reform preparatory classes intended to introduce more social diversity by the Ministry of Education, the rector of the Paris academy, Christophe Kerrero, presented his resignation.

A decision described as extremely rare by the daily newspaper The world. The resignation of the rector of Paris, considered one of the highest executives in national education, is a new setback for Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. In a letter he shared on X, Christophe Kerrero explains the disagreement with the minister which pushed him to abdicate. “Today I am leaving my position as rector of the Paris academy, when our school is in the grip of doubt and the situation nevertheless requires the mobilization of each of its actors,” he wrote.

Two days earlier, the Ministry of Education suspended its project to reform preparatory classes aimed at closing several preparatory classes at the start of the 2024 school year. The rector then wanted to replace these classes with three others with a “more social” vocation, including one at the Henri-IV high school to introduce more social diversity. “Social reproduction still characterizes our education system far too much. Paris is an example, some would say a magnifying mirror,” justified the former rector in his letter.

A new affront to Minister Oudéa-Castéra who believes she has become the “symbol of a privileged caste to be fought”. “I take note of the resignation of Christophe Kerrero who has done so much for the school and the success of all students,” the minister shared on her networks before welcoming his commitment to social diversity that “we will continue, as I committed to it. According to Amélie Oudéa-Castera’s entourage, the minister “assumes her choice to launch a moratorium on these closures” to “thus support even more strongly the social project of the rectorate and the existing offer”.

Since her appointment on January 11, the minister has had a series of controversies, notably by justifying the choice of private school for her children in defiance of public school teachers or after the revelations of Mediapart concerning the system from which his eldest son benefited to enter one of Stanislas’ prestigious preparatory classes. Finally, on Thursday February 1, she faced a first national teachers’ strike. And while the second part of Gabriel Attal’s government should be announced within a week, François Bayrou would be expected to take over the immense portfolio entrusted to Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, according to certain parliamentarians sharing Politico.