In the event of power cuts this winter, a very specific protocol will be put in place in the schools. The Minister of Education, Pap Ndiaye, clarified the contours this Friday morning. Details.
The protocol in the event of power cuts in schools this winter is slowly becoming clearer. Guest of France Info this morning, the Minister of Education, Pap Ndiaye, once again mentioned the outlines of what will be put in place if cuts were to take place from January 2023 in schools. Here is the information announced so far:
What is the protocol in the schools?
In a first statement, Minister Pap Ndiaye explained that there would be no school in the morning for students in the event of load shedding. This time, on the set of France Info he specifies thatthere will also be no school the morning after a cut “since there are two power outage slots: between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., and between 10 a.m. and noon which are school time slots“. Between these two time slots, students will be able to go to schools for lunch. But a question arises, that midday meals. “The canteen will not have been able to prepare the meals under normal conditions in the morning“said the Minister.”We are therefore going to discuss with the communities in the days to come to find out how we are organizing ourselves.” The school transport in the middle of the day will also be at the center of discussions to find solutions to ensure service to students and families.
In case of load shedding, no school? “This means that there will be no school the next morning, repeats Pap Ndiaye. Will there be a canteen? We will discuss with the communities. Schools will remain open to accommodate the children of priority personnel. pic.twitter.com/bUX0DhZcEv
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) December 9, 2022
Regarding the maintenance of classes and the reception of students, the Minister of National Education revealed that soon will be published a “series of possible eco-gestures in establishments”. The goal ? Preparing facility staff and “raise students’ awareness of these issues” through explanatory posters.
Which schools are affected by the power outages?
Still on France Info, Minister Pap Ndiaye specified “that we cannot prioritize schools”. In the event of scheduled load shedding in a specific district, the schools in the area will be impacted. “It will necessarily concern schools because the network is too large for us to be able to isolate them from the general electricity network”, he added.
How many students will be affected?
No specific numbers have been announced yet. We just know that 60% of the population could be affected. So-called sensitive sites, such as hospitals, fire stations, gendarmeries, will escape these potential cuts. Schools do not fall under this criterion.
How will families be notified?
To warn the parents of students in advance of a scheduled power cut in their child’s school, schools will have to use stratagems, it seems. “It will be necessary that on our own initiative [celle des chefs d’établissements ndlr] we connect to the Ecowatt platform to see if the area in which we are will be affected by load shedding the next day. We will have the information at 5 p.m. the day before. And then, of course, the Swiss army knives that are the main teachers and the principals will have to, thanks to the digital tools at their disposal, warn the families”, explained Didier Georges, unionized headmaster at SNPDEN-UNSA to BFM TV. The message can be sent via the Pronote platform, which allows communication with parents, students and the educational team, or directly by email addressed to each family. “Now it does not guarantee and everyone has to hear it that all families will be permanently connected and will necessarily have the information”added the headmaster.
A plan that provokes a strong reaction
As a reminder, given the low temperatures announced for the season and to relieve the French electricity network, the government has announced a complete load shedding plan in certain areas of the territory. The executive made public on December 1st a circular addressed to the prefects to anticipate and prepare the populations and the territories for the planned cuts. A plan that worries teachers’ unions. “The information arrives without having been worked on and raises a lot of questions”notably “methods of informing families” of students, explained Stéphane Crochet, secretary general of SE-Unsa to AFP. Families are also concerned and fear that their children will not go to school. “Parents do not want schools closed, we have seen the impact of closures on students”reported Valérie Desouche, vice-president of the National Union of Autonomous Associations of Parents of Ile-de-France to BFM TV. The SNALC union, among others, is asking this “the maximum” be done “for schools to remain open, school is not incidental”.
A first cut test on December 9
At the national level, a first test will be carried out on the day of December 9. Enedis and the RTE network (electricity transmission network) will be in charge of this operation. They plan cuts in certain areas depending on the lack of electricity production and the weather conditions in these territories. “It’s the dispatchers, our agents directing the electricity into the network, who will simulate load shedding with their computers. But it won’t really correspond to what will happen in the event of load shedding and there will be no load shedding effective this day”, reports RTE to BFM TV.