Teachers’ unions denounced “a real bloodletting” and a “scuttle of public schools” after the announcement of the elimination of 4,000 positions within National Education, planned in the 2025 budget.
“Developments” are still possible during the “parliamentary debate” on the 2025 National Education budget, where the announced elimination of 4,000 positions outraged the unions, said Minister Anne Genetet in an interview with the Tribune Dimanche.
“The parliamentary debate has not yet started, there may still be developments!”, observes the minister, affirming to have “fought to increase the means of the school”.
“A real bloodletting”
The announcement Thursday evening by the ministry of the elimination of 4,000 teaching positions for 2025, mainly in nursery and elementary school (3,155 positions), scandalized the unions who denounced “a real bloodletting” and a “scuttle of the public school”.
The left also contests this measure, like the rebellious leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon who sees it as an “organization of ignorance”.
“With the drop in school demographics, there will be an average of 21.4 students per class in our public schools at the start of the 2025 school year: this is the lowest number of students per class since we have been measuring it,” explains Anne Genetet.
“School remains this government’s priority”
The budget provides, on the other hand, for the creation of 2,000 additional AESH (accompanying students with disabilities) positions. With a negative balance of some 2,000 positions, National Education provides the bulk of the job cuts for civil servants for the State and its operators (2,201 in total) in the 2025 State budget.
The National Education budget for 2025 amounts to 63 billion euros, generally stable compared to that adopted a year ago for 2024.
The minister assures that “school remains the priority of this government and the nation’s first budget”.
