Ariège Parents Protest Class closure Amidst Declining Enrollment
Pamiers, Ariège – Parents in Ariège are voicing strong opposition to school closures and staffing adjustments despite a meaningful drop in student enrollment, fearing a detrimental impact on the quality of education. The concerns surfaced at a recent school board meeting, highlighting tensions between departmental forecasts and on-the-ground realities.
The Ariège Department of Education projected a decrease of 159 students for the 2025-2026 school year, but initial back-to-school figures reveal a more substantial decline of 279 students. This discrepancy is fueling anxieties among parents,especially in areas like Saint-Jean-du-Castillonnais and Orgibet,where facility limitations already strain resources.
“At the Saint-Jean school, there is only one door which meets security standards, so we can only accommodate 17 students in the school. Which means that there are two teachers in Orgibet to accommodate the 29 students out of the 41 in all. Wiht two colleagues,” explained Antoine Loguillard, departmental secretary of UNSA-Education, detailing the challenges faced in these communities. Efforts are underway to convince the Saint-Jean town hall to modify the building to increase capacity.
Further complicating matters is the RPI of Douctouyre, encompassing the schools of Dun, Vira, and Carla-de-Roquefort following the closure of the Arvigna school.While enrollment numbers are relatively stable - 22 students in Carla-de-Roquefort, and 27 each in Dun and Vira – the UNSA initially requested a fourth teaching position to better manage the combined 54 students. The inspector opted for a temporary solution, assigning a teacher to split time between Vira and Dun.”But the inspector does not want there to be isolated class, so he made a teacher available, but who will go three days in Vira and two days in Dun,” Loguillard stated, adding that the union intends to revisit the issue during the next school card review in February.
The department has made adjustments to secondary school staffing, opening six classes – including a sixth grade at the Pierre-Bayle college in Pamiers and Jules-Palmade in Seix – while closing four others, including three sixth grades in Pamiers, Mirepoix, and Saint-Girons.
Despite the overall decline in student numbers, parents are concerned that closures and resource reallocation will disproportionately affect smaller schools and compromise educational standards. The UNSA-education is advocating for a more nuanced approach to staffing decisions, emphasizing the need to address facility limitations and maintain adequate teacher-to-student ratios. The long-term trend of declining enrollment in ariège has been ongoing for over a decade, raising questions about the future of rural education in the region.
