Desperately looking for teachers! Only a few days before the start of the school year, the recruitment of teachers is indeed the primary concern of the rectorates, which are multiplying the job offers on their websites. This year, National Education has to deal with an unprecedented situation: more than 4,000 positions were not filled during the teacher competitions organized last spring, out of a total of 27,332 open positions, in the public and private. The casualization of the profession – the salary of French teachers is one of the lowest in Europe – and the hardening of the conditions of exercise have indeed enough to dampen the ardor of potential aspirants.
In the heart of summer, the new minister Pap Ndiaye wanted to be reassuring, however, saying that there would be “a teacher in front of each class at the start of the school year”. During his first back-to-school press conference on August 26, the latter discussed at length the solutions put in place to deal with this shortage of personnel, such as the use of candidates from the complementary lists of competitions or the hiring of 3,000 new contractors. It is to them that most of the classified ads put online by the various academies are addressed. The goal ? Attract novice volunteers or those already experienced in the profession. If a good number of calls for applications evoke full-time and current contracts over a few months or even over the school year, other proposals seem much less attractive… even downright discouraging for some.
“A cultural milestone has been reached”
By going to the recruitment section of the site of the Clermont-Ferrand academy, we learn that Saint-Eloy-Les-Mines, a small rural town in Puy-de-Dôme, is still looking for a free Spanish teacher from September 1 and until next August to perform… 4.5 hours per week (2.5 hours in a college and 2 hours in a vocational high school). Amount of the gross monthly salary: 480 euros. The condition is to hold a license or a master’s degree. A little over an hour’s drive away, in the town of Thiers, the Jean Zay high school is looking for a biochemistry teacher, again for the whole year but with only 4 hours of lessons per week. The profile required is wide since the position is open to nurses, childcare workers or midwives, as well as to a holder of a BTS ESF (social and family economy) with professional experience, or even to a State graduate of ‘special educator. But beware, the candidate is warned: he can only count on 400 euros gross per month.
Are the candidates likely to accept these very precarious contracts jostling at the portals of the establishments? Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of Snes-FSU, the main union for secondary school teachers, strongly doubts it. “These job offers offering only 4 to 6 hours of teaching per week rarely find takers and stay online for a long time,” she sighs. Some contractors get by by carrying out several missions in different establishments, provided that the schedules are suitable and that the places of exercise are not too far from each other. For others, it can only be a matter of additional income or a temporary mission while waiting to find a full-time job in National Education… or elsewhere. “A cultural milestone has been reached this year,” says Stéphane Crochet, general secretary of SE-Unsa, another teachers’ union. “The administration has made a sort of shift towards the month of June-July by turning to a recruitment method that is much broader than in previous years. finally practice their profession”, he laments.
Contract research for one hour per week
The list of substitute positions published on the Grenoble rectorate website, and updated on August 22, a little over a week before the start of the school year, is spread over 10 pages! In this territory, more than 7,000 hours are still not filled at a time when families are scouring the supply departments of stores in anticipation of the start of the school year. Teachers of mathematics (650 vacant hours), technology (618) or modern letters (483) are particularly sought after. But, alongside the few half-time or full-time offered, there is still a majority of contracts of only a few hours per week. Even less! This secondary school in Seyssinet-Pariset, in the suburbs of Grenoble, is therefore looking for an English teacher ready to provide… one hour of lessons per week. The Grenoble Academy at least has the merit of being transparent since these job offers are accessible to everyone in a few clicks. Which is far from being the case everywhere. More and more rectorates now go directly through Pôle Emploi or through dedicated platforms. For Sophie Vénétitay, the fact that these ads are no longer automatically accessible to the general public is no coincidence. “There is undoubtedly a desire to hide the internal kitchen and the extent of the existing shortages which say a lot about the recruitment crisis that we are currently experiencing,” she says.
The hierarchy of National Education has undoubtedly also been scalded by certain controversies that have erupted in recent years. In 2016, the fact that the Versailles Academy contacted the Uruguayan Embassy to recruit Spanish teachers was criticized. More recently, the “job dating” operations organized by rectorates also shocked part of the profession and the general public. The fact that the Bordeaux Academy advertises in the local press as well. Not to mention the initial training time granted to these new recruits which does not exceed four days, or even turns out to be downright non-existent. Which says a lot about the state of the education system. Another astonishing finding: the average salaries of announced contract workers can vary according to the academies. Those of Versailles and Créteil show gross salaries ranging from 2,022 euros to 2,327 euros gross per month, depending on the level of diploma, for general education. While that of Toulouse mentions a range ranging from 1,600 to 1,800 euros gross monthly. An advertisement published on the Clermont-Ferrand site offers 1,320 euros gross monthly to a contract worker ready to teach technology 12.5 hours a week in a college if he holds a BTS or a DUT. But the salary rises to 1,520 euros if he has a doctorate … Again, not sure that the position will quickly find a buyer.
During his back-to-school conference, Pap Ndiaye nevertheless put into perspective the importance of using contract workers in this new school year. “We estimate their number at 3,000 people, to be compared with the 850,000 teachers (titular, Editor’s note)”, he insisted. Which represents “1 to 1.5% [des effectifs, Ndlr] in primary education, and 8 to 9% in secondary education”. Before assuring: “Yes, we have recruitment difficulties, but we are dealing with them for the coming school year, while offering long-term responses”. The situation is she really under control?First elements of answers on September 1st.