Parents and teachers mobilized against the non-replacement of a teacher at the Henri IV high school in Béziers.

Three 1st year classes at Henri IV high school have been without French teachers since the start of the school year. Midi Libre – ANTONIA JIMENEZ

Teachers' union, parents' association and high school students are meeting at 12:30 p.m. in front of the Henri IV school complex, this Thursday, October 17, to raise awareness about the lack of replacements for a French teacher, while a mock exam is looming in January. They are also protesting the lack of support workers for students with disabilities (AESH).

Since the start of the school year, four 1st year classes at Henri IV high school have been without their French teacher, who has been placed on sick leave until November or next December. The teacher has not been replaced by a permanent teacher, despite repeated requests to the rectorate by the head of the establishment, who has to organize himself as best he can with the other teachers. An untenable situation according to the SNES-FSU union representative, Christophe Benoît, while a first mock exam is looming in January:“It is the responsibility of the rectorate to appoint a replacement teacher. It asks the principal to set up occasional replacements with colleagues who already have a busy schedule and who sometimes work part-time. Colleagues can help out but not on a long-term basis. We do some DIY. The students end up with one to 3 hours of French per week, instead of the usual 4 to 5 hours .

"They are falling behind and it stresses them out, they ask a lot of questions about preparing for the exam".

A patch-up, for want of anything better, thanks to the goodwill of the other teachers, like Laurence Fulleda, a French teacher, who, anxious to reassure the students in their progress, agreed to give them an hour of lessons per week:“Normally, I don't do replacements, I'm against it, because I'm at 70% of work time for personal reasons. But given the emergency, I accepted, to help them a little, to reassure them, because there are three classes taking the baccalaureate this year. They fall behind and it stresses them out, they ask a lot of questions about preparing for the exam.

These lost hours of French are a stress factor for high school students and their families, who are concerned about their success, as this mother of a high school student in 1st year general testifies: “For the past three weeks, she has only had one hour of French per week and has only had four hours in total since the start of the school year. I can't afford to pay for private lessons for her. She is very anxious about falling behind on the programme. I wrote to the headmaster of the school but I still haven't had a response, except for an informal one. They explain to me that this is the responsibility of the rectorate. We feel abandoned.

No response from the rectorate of the Montpellier academy

In fact, the head of the establishment, Jean-Philippe Papineau, does not have the power to recruit a replacement teacher and indicates that he is still waiting for a solution following his requests. Just like Anita Ardura, president of the parents' association of the Biterrois FCPE, and mother of a visually impaired high school student at Henri IV: “On October 10, we sent the same letter to the academic management of the department (DASEN) and to the rector of the Montpellier academy, to request the replacement of this teacher but also to raise awareness of the situation of the AESH, who are not numerous enough to be alongside the students. For 3 hours a week, my son has no support in class, even though he has a disability. His two letters have, so far, remained unanswered.

Faced with this silence, the school staff and parents decided to protest in front of the high school, this Thursday, October 17 at 12:30 p.m., in order to obtain answers.

The rectorate of the Montpellier academy, contacted by Midi Libre, has not provided any details on this situation to the high school student Henri IV at the time of writing this article. I subscribe to read the rest