“A social worker, full-time nurses, a good school building that would provide accessibility for people with disabilities and thermal insulation…” Blandine Paulet, co-secretary of Snes-FSU 93, cites the improvements the emergency plan would bring to the REP School campus in Bondy, where she teaches.
The Seine-Saint-Denis teachers’ union, as well as four national representatives, are meeting with the Minister of National Education this Monday, April 15. For several months now, they have been calling for an urgent plan for education in the poorest department in continental France and are intensifying their actions. The plan cost 358 million euros just for hourly wages and human resources.
Previously, on April 10, the teachers were received in Matignon by two advisers to Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. “In March, the social advisor of the Minister of Education told us that the budget depends on Matignon. » The Prime Minister’s advisers assured the teachers that Nicole Belloubet would make an announcement soon.
The Inter-Union is at least happy to deal with the Minister personally at this stage. “Sometimes we have the impression that the government is playing with us, hoping that the dissatisfaction will pass”assesses Zoé Butzbach. “But we have a large-scale social movement, with teachers, parents and even elected officials. So we’re waiting to see how they pull out the checkbook. »
“In the past period, from March to April, there were between 500 and 600 hours without replacement, every day”
At the top of many concerns: not replacing teachers. “Before, it was estimated that the students of Seine-Saint-Denis were losing a year of lessons. We went for 14 or 18 months”, condemns Zoé Butzbach. For Marie-Hélène Plard, co-secretary of SNUipp-FSU 93, the problem is familiar. “According to the admission of the academic management itself, in the past period March-April there were between 500 and 600 hours without replacement, every day”she says.
At Zoé Butzbach’s REP+ facility in Aubervilliers, a social worker went on maternity leave six months ago. It has not been replaced since. The number of scholarship students at the faculty decreased compared to the previous year. “Not because fewer students would meet the conditions for the scholarship”warns co-secretary of CGT Éduc’action 93, professor of history and geography. “There is simply no one to help fulfill the requirements.” » The parliamentary report reminds that high school students in Seine-Saint-Denis have the lowest index of social position in continental France.
“Without a social worker, there are fewer scholarship recipients. Because there is no one to make demands”
In addition to human resources, there will also be the issue of construction, for which, according to the trade unions, a second collective budget is necessary. The buildings are under the jurisdiction of city halls for schools, departments for colleges and regions for secondary schools. The inter-union is asking for exceptional help from the state, deploring the numerous unsanitary rooms, such as the case in the Opaline kindergarten in Saint-Denis.
“There is water leaking from the roof leading into the small sleeping room”condemns Zoé Butzbach. “We don’t know what’s in this water because it’s black. Damp in schools is the second source of early asthma, after furniture glue »she adds.
“We have overcrowded classes that are not adapted for more than 35 students. The rooms are too small or poorly insulated, and my institution receives more and more students every year.”says Jacques Demattes, from SUD Éducation 93, teacher librarian at the Condorcet High School in Montreuil. “And the buildings are not insulated. »
The president of the council of the Seine-Saint-Denis department reminded that the state invests less in the department’s institutions than elsewhere. “The state reimburses only our investments in faculty buildings in the amount of 8.8%, well below the national average of 15%”Stéphane Troussel indicated.
“In France, Seine-Saint-Denis is the youngest department, so more schools are needed. But it is also the poorest, so less money comes in”, summarizes Zoé Butzbach. This is why, according to her, state intervention is necessary. The aim is to achieve equality with other departments, insist members of the inter-union. It is not preferential treatment.
“There was a billion-dollar plan in Marseille, the poorest of the six largest cities in France. There was a plan for Mayotte, the poorest department in France”recalls Zoé Butzbach. “We are asking the same thing for Seine-Saint-Denis, the poorest department in France. » If this first meeting with the minister is a victory, it will not be enough to stop the mobilization. The strike for the beginning of the school year on April 22 has already been voted on at the General Assembly.