“Will we reopen on the 18th? It’s a good question. If you find someone who has the answer, I’m interested”. The statement may seem ironic, but Andres Mattei-Govi’s uncertainty is real. Like all the heads of secondary schools in Corsica, the principal of the Saint-Joseph college in Bastia finds himself between the hammer and the anvil: on the one hand, the French Ministry of Education fixed the reopening of the colleges on May 18 on the other, the community of Corsica postponed this event to September.
“We are in total blur”, explains the one who is also the representative in Corsica of the Snupden (unitary national union of the personnel of direction of the National education). “As National Education personnel, I have to do everything to welcome the students on May 18. We are state officials, we obey our minister. Except that to open, we must apply the health protocol , you also need teachers, and maintenance workers who depend on the community. “
The Assembly of Corsica said: September!
However, these same school heads received a letter from the Executive on Monday, May 11, informing them that under the precautionary principle, “The general reopening of colleges and high schools can only take place in September 2020”.
This letter echoes the vote of the Corsican Assembly on May 7. In its article 4, the adopted deliberation specifies that the Assembly of Corsica takes note of “the proposal of the Executive Council of Corsica that the general reopening of nurseries, schools, colleges, high schools and the University of Corsica does not take place until September 2020.”
Everything seemed clear. Except that since, many parents of students on the island have received messages as follows: “In accordance with government decisions, the college will be able to accommodate students in grades 6 and 5 as of May 18 in strict compliance with the health protocol.”
“An obvious mark of contempt for Corsican institutions”
What considerably confuse the ideas of parents. What, also, trigger the anger of the president of the Assembly of Corsica. In a press release co-signed by Petru-Antone Tomasi, the president of the Corsica libera group, Jean-Guy Talamoni calls for respect “the vote of the Assembly of Corsica”. Recalling that “The walls of these establishments belong to the Collective and that the technical staff, essential to their functioning, are part of the agents of the Collective”, he considers that the letters addressed to the parents “constitute a violation of the decision of the Assembly and an obvious mark of contempt for Corsican institutions stemming from universal suffrage. ”
The authority of National Education prevails
Who is right ? In this case, it is clear that several realities overlap. Place, “it is the authority of National Education which prevails”, explains Fabien Hoffman, lecturer in public law at the University of Corsica.
“There is no doubt about it, except that in the present case, no one on the state side wants to engage in a showdown. The government’s idea is really to find a consensus solution. Primary schools served as a test. National Education had the upper hand, but the instruction of the Prime Minister implied that no proceedings would be instituted against the mayors who refused to open the schools. The prefects had to find solutions by negotiating. No one will end up in administrative court“.
This crisis management, all in diplomacy, is linked to the multiplicity of risks. “We have to deal with the fear that children will not go back to school and be out of school. But also with the economic fear that parents will not be able to return to work. Added to this is the fear that teachers will assert their rights. and block the establishment. “
Shared skills
If the subject is thorny, it is also because of the law, in this case, that of January 22, 2002, according to which the powers in matters of colleges and high schools are shared between the services of the State and the collectivity of Corsica. The latter owns the walls, allocates operating subsidies to establishments each year, and is authoritative over the territorial technical assistants of educational establishments (ATTEE), the agents responsible for cleaning and maintenance. Agents whose presence is made particularly valuable in this context of epidemic risk.
The particular situation born of the law of January 22 was recalled Thursday during the session of the Assembly of Corsica, by Jean-Martin Mondoloni, president of the group beforehand: “Be careful not to let us believe that we would be independent on the subject, we are in a division of competences with the services of the State”. On that day, the one who is also a high school principal had added: “Beyond that, we are not ready, the health protocol sets such a level of requirement that no one can really apply it.”
No reopening without maintenance staff
In fact, the headache of implementing health rules is the primary concern of school heads. Because the 53-page protocol imposed on them is very complex, but also because the system will depend on the number of students received, correlated to the number of teachers ….. and finally to the number of agents interview.
The rectorate even made this Tuesday evening the participation of these agents a sine qua non condition of reopening. “Without the active participation of the agents of the Collectivity of Corsica in charge of cleaning and maintenance of the premises, no establishment will reopen insofar as the sanitary protocol cannot be strictly applied there”, explains Julie Benetti, the rector of the Academy of Corsica. “My top priority is to guarantee the safety of our staff and our students. I sent a letter to the President of the Executive Council today.”
A President of the Executive also sought by the Snupden – the union of school leaders asked him by mail for clarification – as well as the President of the Assembly of Corsica and that of the Corsica group libera. In their press release Jean-Guy Talamoni and Petru Antone Tomasi ask him, “in accordance with his prerogatives, notably as chief of staff, to strictly enforce the decision of the Corsican Assembly, and thus fully restore the credibility of Corsican institutions and the vote of its elected representatives”. A matter to follow.
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