This is an old debate that has recently resurfaced on the media scene. Should you send your child to private school or public school? Are teachers absent more than elsewhere? It all started with the clumsy remarks of the new Minister of National Education, Youth, Sports and the Olympic Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. During her first trip on January 12, 2024, she was questioned about the schooling of her three children, born from her union with a famous athlete. The person concerned then replied that she had put his eldest son in a private school because of the number of hours not replaced in the public school. Enough to raise a debate on the chances of succeeding depending on one’s social origin. In a report published on Tuesday January 16, 2024, Statista revealed edifying figures on private and public education. According to the statistics site, there is a de facto link between the social origin of the families and the choice of the type of school chosen.
Students from advantaged and very advantaged backgrounds, the majority in the private sector
According to data from the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research, more than half (55%) of students enrolled in private colleges in 2022 came from advantaged or very advantaged backgrounds. Conversely, they only represented 31% in public establishments. The most disadvantaged are in the clear majority in public establishments, where they represented 43% of enrollment in 2022 compared to only 18% in private colleges. Enough to give food for thought to all those who were affected by the controversial remarks of the Minister of Education. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra’s three sons are today educated at the very chic Stanislas, a very conservative private establishment, based in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
Facts strongly criticized by the opposition who see them as proof of bad education policy. On X, Ian Brossat, member of the Paris Council, declared: “A Minister of National Education justifies the private schooling of her children because of the decrepitude of public schools. Decay organized for 7 years by Macron! Crazy world”. Marine Le Pen, for her part, pointed out the dilapidation of the institution: “Seven years that they have been in power, seven years thatthey did nothing to restore the school of the Republic. And today they are offended by the dilapidation of public education, as if they were not responsible for it..