Vincent Mazeau and Cyril Noël teach general knowledge at Sciences Po Paris.
The replacement of the National School of Administration (ENA) by the future National Institute of Public Service (INSP) from January 1, 2022 is a powerful symbol.
Among the many grievances formulated against Ena, and which led to its abolition, are the dissemination of a “single thought” and the poor social mix of its recruitment.
These two reproaches, addressed to Ena as a whole not without a grain of truth, also commonly target the general knowledge test included in its entrance examination, to such an extent that the report of the prefiguration commission of the INSP, published at the end of November 2021, proposes not to retain “ge culture” among the tests for the future INSP competition.
Already suppressed for almost ten years from the entrance exam to the first year at Sciences Po Paris, general culture could now disappear from the competitions for the senior civil service.
Vincent Mazeau and Cyril Noel
As mythical as it is mysterious, “ge culture” stands out from other so-called technical disciplines, such as law or economics, which do not undergo such criticism.
Already suppressed for almost ten years from the entrance exam to the first year at Sciences Po Paris, general culture could now disappear from the competitions for the senior civil service.
And yet the matter is vigorously justified by the most important representatives of our republican heritage. For de Gaulle,
“general culture is the real school of command”
. For Jaurès, the courage of thought consists in
“exploring the almost infinite complexity of facts and details”
and in
“illuminating this enormous and confused reality with general ideas”.
Demanding but open to all, imbued with idealism as much as pragmatism, the ideal of general culture is dedicated to forming citizenship and developing humanity through permanent and intimate contact with works and knowledge. This is all the more necessary for senior civil servants called upon to serve the State.
Isn't all this too emphatic, too dated?
Wouldn't it be necessary, in order to dust off the civil service once and for all, also destroy the myth of "ge culture"?
We who, for many years, have been fortunate enough to prepare candidates for the ENA competitive examination for this test, have no doubts about this: general knowledge is absolutely necessary for the selection and training of those who claim exercise important administrative responsibilities.
It is still necessary, to be convinced of this, to get rid of a few misconceptions.
Another misconception: general culture would only have a function of social discrimination, by selecting those who “have the codes”.
Vincent Mazeau and Cyril Noel
No, general culture is not reduced to learning a ready-made thought whose restitution would be expected by the jury. On the contrary, the latter deplores each year the excessive number of copies marked by a lack of commitment and a soft and conformist reflection on the role of the State in society. To succeed, you must first detach yourself from your cards, and build your own personal reasoning on the question asked. The general knowledge test does not favor lukewarm minds, quite the contrary!
Calling for a reasoned and informed problematization, the general culture test does not favor the learned monkeys and the pedants, more or less skilful Trissotins seeking to shine by the display of knowledge of which they have not absorbed the substantial marrow .
Less and less numerous, they no longer deceive anyone, and their pump always falls flat.
Another misconception: general culture would only have a function of social discrimination, by selecting those who "have the codes", having stored up the expected cultural references during their youth and being able to restore them according to the required forms.
Because it remains to be proven that pupils of modest origin would obtain less good results.
In any case, they frequently claim that the test, which is based on reasoning and the mastery of fundamental knowledge, is less discriminating than, for example, modern languages.
The Bassères report refers on this point to surveys which would establish the existence of a characterized social bias, without these surveys making it possible to conclude that general culture would be more discriminating than the other disciplines.
As if Hugo or Tolstoy belonged to the wealthiest (when they read them) and only served to establish their “domination”!
Vincent Mazeau and Cyril Noel
Above all, the existence of inequalities in access to general culture cannot reduce this discipline to a pure instrument of distinction, the accessibility of which in principle and the content should be denied with regard to the social use which would be do. As if Hugo or Tolstoy belonged to the wealthiest (when they read them) and only served to establish their "domination"! As if the thinkers, scientists and artists of yesterday and today contributed nothing to our understanding of the world, to our humanity and to our joy of living, and were only signals intended to make the discrimination machine!
The presence of social biases in no way invalidates the ideal of general culture, but on the contrary pleads for widening access to it for all, from an early age.
The general culture test also remains essential for selecting future senior civil servants, because one cannot confine oneself to recruiting good professionals at the top of the State without the lofty vision, intellectual honesty and criticism provided by a real "general culture".
The immense changes that are taking place today call for broad views and clear ideas.
Vincent Mazeau and Cyril Noel
This requirement is all the stronger in our time marked by the urgency of crises, the acceleration of technical and social developments, the tyranny of the “buzz”, dubious simplifications and intolerance of all kinds.
The immense changes that are taking place today call for broad views and clear ideas.
This is why we propose, instead of removing the general culture test from the senior civil service competitions, to reaffirm its importance.
It would certainly be possible to modify the format, for example by refocusing the subjects asked on more specific questions and by providing candidates with a documentary file intended to initiate reflection. Integrating more clearly into the field of the event the scientific disciplines, historically less present than the classic “humanities”, is also an interesting avenue, in connection with current issues such as digital technology, climate change or even bioethics.
But it is advisable in any case to keep in mind the essential and indispensable vocation of the test of general culture and the teaching which prepares for it: to insure against mediocrity, laziness and stupidity which threaten us all , that the future heads of administration are not only excellent technicians, but also men and women of spirit and heart.
