“The Minister of National Education and Youth has given instructions that, from tomorrow (Thursday), the academies recover the budgetary resources initially notified in order to continue the allocation of overtime in establishments,” declared the rue de Grenelle in a press release.
“In accordance with the priority given to National Education by the government, the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Education and Youth hoped that educational establishments would continue to have the means to carry out their missions successfully,” said – we completed from the same source.
A measure arousing strong emotion among education staff
At the start of the week, the rectorates announced to school heads “a measure to reduce overtime allocations and allowances for special missions”, according to a message consulted by AFP.
The reduction, or even in certain cases the elimination of this budgetary envelope at the hand of principals and principals to finance measures such as “homework done” or academic support, with the result of the pure and simple cessation of these projects, had given rise to since strong emotion among education staff relayed by their unions.
The rectorates had justified this measure in application of the 10 billion euro cut imposed by Bercy on the 2024 budget of administrations. For National Education, it is a question of finding a little less than 692 million euros in savings.
“We have the impression of being caught in a game of three-cushion billiards”
“Overtime is being maintained. This is good news,” commented those close to Minister of National Education and Youth Nicole Belloubet when contacted by AFP. According to this source, the messages sent by the rectors to the heads of establishments had been sent “out of budgetary prudence”, because “it had been deemed prudent to slow down overtime without suspending it completely”.
Joined by AFP, Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of Snes-FSU, the leading union of middle and high schools, believes that the ministerial announcement is “a happy surprise” but also expresses her “disbelief” in the face of the sequence of decisions and its “vigilance” on upcoming budget cuts.
“It’s an about-face intended to avoid an incandescent end to the year,” judged Sophie Vénétitay. “Who runs National Education? Rue de Grenelle, Bercy or Matignon?” she asked. “We have the impression of being caught in a game of three-cushion billiards and meanwhile, Education is on the rocks,” she lamented.