A private school in Paris, Stanislas, finds itself in the middle of a storm following the controversy sparked by the new Minister of National Education last weekend. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra justified sending her children there while, at the same time, her ministry is accused of never having published an inspection report on this school group. The Paris town hall has already announced that it is suspending all its funding for the establishment.
4 mins
The investigative journal Mediapart obtained the document which lists a whole series of abuses at “Stan”, as he is nicknamed. For this report, you should know that four inspectors interviewed around a hundred people and who, in conclusion, point out that the establishment does not respect the law on numerous points.
Stanislas is a private establishment under contract, it therefore receives funds from the State and public authorities and consequently, in addition to respecting the law, it has obligations. The first deviation revealed by the report is compulsory religious courses when they should be optional. It is difficult to imagine that atheist students or students of another religion could find their place in this establishment. Inspectors question respect for freedom of conscience.
Tendency to proselytize
Parents are cited, some are worried about a tendency to proselytize. Fourth grade classes, for example, learn in catechism booklets that abortion always means voluntarily killing an innocent human person. There is an incentive to be baptized: students were asked to raise their finger for those who were baptized, others were told they would go to hell.
The report also points to the choice of those responsible for catechesis. One of them clearly made homophobic comments, talking about illness, evoking the need to seek treatment. This person was removed from office. She assured that she had only once indulged in personal convictions in front of students, but according to inspectors, she was quite used to it during her three years in office. The report also says that management did not really realize the seriousness of the comments.
Among the recommendations, a special inspection of the content of SVT, Earth Sciences and Life courses. Only one teacher is responsible for covering contraception in fourth and third grade, as planned in the program. In all, the report calls for an action plan with a list of fifteen recommendations to raise the bar.
“ No acts of homophobia, no cases of harassment »
The Minister of National Education reacted on the public television channel France 2 on Wednesday. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra minimizes the abuses observed in the establishment, at the microphone of our colleague Thomas Sotto. “ This action plan will be followed with all necessary rigor. » « So there will be no free pass for Stan ? », asks Thomas Sotto. “ I would like to point out that this report – how should I put it – does not reveal any incidents of homophobia or any cases of harassment. The only case of homophobia was reported to the prosecutor via the article 40 procedure », Estimates the minister.
Read alsoIn France, the new Minister of National Education at the heart of a first controversy
However, the problem here again is that the administrative investigation actually identified many other facts relating to homophobia in this establishment. Less obvious than the case of this catechism leader mentioned above, but rather an atmosphere which leaves room for homophobia. A student who is accused of “ so-called LGBT sweater “. The student talks about a simply multi-colored sweater.
The culture of non-mixing, the image constantly reflected to boys of their masculinity and to girls of their femininity, which promotes, according to the inspection, a climate of rejection of homosexuality, innuendoes and accusations when a student does not follow the expected codes. The current leadership assumes its position: there is no room for ideological debate and no room for activism.
It is difficult to imagine in this context that this report will remain in a drawer, especially since this affair is reminiscent of another: the Averroès high school in Lille. The main private Muslim establishment in France lost its state subsidies at the start of the school year in January. Its very future is called into question. An inspection highlighted the vagueness around the origin of donations and loans, notably coming from an NGO in Qatar. From an educational point of view, the report spoke of a book going against the values of the Republic present in the high school library, the absence of works on secularism. Management filed a legal appeal, believing that this sanction was very unfair. The report against the Stanislas establishment is much heavier, much more serious, particularly on the educational and ideological aspect.