French school students take to streets over teacher shortages and crowded classrooms
Students at several upper secondary schools in France have launched protests over a lack of teachers, overcrowded classes and strained facilities, with a vehicle set alight near the Eiffel Tower.
Students' anger over problems in education has spilled onto the streets in France. Students at many upper secondary schools across the country have launched an agitation, schools are being shut down and protests are being held in various places.
The reasons for the students' anger are plain. Teacher shortages are growing, classes are getting more crowded, schools are short of facilities and pressure on the whole education system is mounting.
The agitation has spread to the world-famous Eiffel Tower. Students set a four-wheeler on fire in the open area beneath the tower. A video of this is going viral on social media.
The movement has begun to win support from people working in every sector in France and from students' parents. Elsewhere, the agitation turned violent in some places, forcing the police to step in. So far, there has been no report of arrests of students or of a lathi-charge.
Teacher shortages top the list of the main issues. In many schools, classes are cancelled for want of teachers, or students' daily studies are affected. There are also complaints of rising numbers of children in classrooms in some schools. The protesters claim that they are not getting a proper education as a result. Resentment has also been expressed in many places over school buildings and basic facilities.
Students are also uneasy about the university admission process. After upper secondary education, a system called Parcoursup is used for university admission. Student organisations say it puts heavy pressure on students. Their stress is growing over admission chances, inequality in education and insecurity about future careers. For this reason, the demand for large-scale reform of the education system is gaining strength.
In many places students demonstrated at school gates, and attempts were also made to keep some schools shut. In some areas there were clashes between the police and protesters, but nobody was injured. Security arrangements have been stepped up after incidents of arson and vandalism. The government now faces a twin challenge: calming the agitation and resolving these problems in the education system.
