New Director General Takesโค Helm atโ Nationalโข Education Amidst Challenges
รdouard Geffray hasโ been appointed Director General of School Education (Dgesco), the number two position within the Ministry ofโ National Education.Geffray brings a diverse backgroundโข to the role, having previously worked for the Council of State and โฃserved as Secretary General ofโข the National Commission for Informatics and Liberties (Cnil). Heโฃ also held political positions as chief of staff to Franรงois Bayrou in 2017 and later as โฃHR director for the Ministryโ of National Education.โค Most recently,he submitted a report focused on modernizing the “My class at the cinema” program.
Geffray’s โฃarrival coincides โฃwith a period of meaningfulโฃ difficulty for the French education system. The start of the school year wasโค marked by tragedy with the suicide of Caroline โGrandjean, a school principal inโ Cantal, following prolonged lesbophobic harassment. This event added to existingโฃ concerns stemming from recent incidents ofโ school violence, including a knife attack โขon a โteacher in Benfeld (Bas-Rhin) by a 14-year-old student.
Beyond these โฃimmediate crises, the Ministry โfacesโค ongoingโ structural issues. A severe teacher recruitment crisis has persisted for three years, characterized โby low competition โฃparticipation rates, unfilled positions, and teachersโข leaving the profession early.A reform aimed at addressing this, shifting teacher trainingโค to the third yearโ of a bachelor’s โdegree โfollowed byโฃ a two-year, paid master’s programโข withโ civil servant status, is scheduled to take effect in 2026.
Several other key reforms remain in progress.Former Minister Elisabeth Borne announced changes to the โ baccalaurรฉat exam, limiting continuous assessment to specifically designated “certificative” evaluations like common homework โand practice exams. Schoolsโ are currently working toโข determine which grades will beโ included in the final assessment before the All Saints’ day holiday.
Implementation ofโฃ existing policies is also proving challenging. โThe “portable pause” initiative,intended to โคreduce โฃscreen time in middle schools,has seen limited uptake,with only 9% of schools implementing it and 68% reporting โคno plans to do so,according to a survey byโค the SNPDEN-Unsa union.
Progress โขis also needed in the โimplementation of education for emotional, โขrelational and sexual life (Evars), twenty years after it was โคmandated by law. Whileโ a framework is now in place, schools lack dedicated time in โthe curriculum and resources for effective implementation.
the Ministry is addressing the falloutโ from theโ Bรฉtharram affair, which revealed instances of sexual violence in private schools โขunder contract.A plan, “Let’s break the silence, let’s act together,” including questionnaires forโ boarding students andโข those on school trips, has been launched, with a goal of inspecting 40% of contracted private establishments by 2027.
