Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the baccalaureate specialty tests, scheduled for March 14 to 16, could be arranged or postponed to the end of March, May or June.
The ministry is consulting unions and representatives of parents and students before announcing its decision in the coming days.
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Jean-Michel Blanquer facing the pack of his accusers
"
The Minister of National Education assured Monday, during a trip to Tourcoing, that a decision would be made "
within eight days
". It could happen as early as the end of the week. “
The question now is to arbitrate between March, May and June. March is what was planned and it's always better to do what was planned
, ”said Jean-Michel Blanquer, interviewed on BFMTV on Wednesday January 26. According to him, “
March also allows students to have (…) a note at this time of the year, which will then count in Parcoursup
”, he continued, praising the “
revaluation of the baccalaureate
”.
He also mentioned "
adjustments around the event as it will be
".
"
But those who say May or June also have arguments when they say that the health crisis has created delays among students, that we must give them time, we must know how to hear that too
", he nuanced .
Read alsoBac 2022: postponement of specialty tests in May considered
These specialty tests - which concern the two "
specialties
" chosen by high school students in Terminale - were born from the baccalaureate reform decided by Jean-Michel Blanquer, and count for 32% of the final mark for this exam. They have never been organized before, due to the health crisis. In 2021 (first year of the new baccalaureate), these tests had been canceled and replaced by continuous assessment. This time, it is not a cancellation but an adjustment or a postponement which is studied with the unions and the national council for high school life. The Minister accepted these discussions, requested by several organizations, during the January 13 mobilization day.
Will these events simply be arranged and maintained in March as the majority of high school students and parents of Peep, one of the federations representing parents of students, hope?
High school students want the tests to be maintained in March, possibly postponed for one or two weeks maximum, with test arrangements, such as for example two subjects to choose from for a test (instead of only one).
“Quick” response
Jean-Michel Blanquer recalled on Wednesday that "
students are always (his) compass by definition and that (his) role is to be the minister for students
".
Will they be postponed to May as headteachers suggest?
“
March is too early, because January and February have been or will be very disrupted.
June is too late, because the specialist teachers cannot both correct the copies and pass the great oral.
May seems to us to be the best for the students
, ”declares Claire Krepper, national secretary of SE-Unsa, on the same line as the main union of school heads to AFP.
"
Maintaining the tests in March risks putting everyone in a tense situation because we still have 12% to 15% of teachers absent due to the Covid
”, notes Catherine Nave-Bekhti, from the Sgen-CFDT union.
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Other unions, including the Snes (first among college and high school teachers), are leaning towards a postponement in June.
“
A large part of the students are at a distance or sick.
It's impossible to finish the programs and the idea is therefore to allow time to better prepare
the students, says Sophie Vénétitay, from Snes-FSU.
For several weeks, lessons have been disrupted by the absence of teachers and students contaminated by the Covid.
But a postponement in June would mean that the high school students of Terminale will chain the two specialty tests, the philosophy, then the great oral, a test which is out of the ordinary for French students.
And the teachers correcting these tests will have to pass the grand oral, the anticipated French tests and the philosophy tests at the same time.
All the hypotheses are still on the table.
Students, teachers and parents, if they do not agree on the desired timetable, all demand a “
quick
” response.
