France offers public and private schools at all levels. Educational standards are generally high. The rigorous curriculum is dictated by the Ministry of Education and is practically the same across the country and in the French territories. Teachers are considered public workers and the teachers' unions are very powerful officials. Teacher strikes are frequent and often they are cited as the main reason for French families opt for private schools, which are overwhelmingly Catholic. The education system in France emphasizes the teacher's authority, the individual competition, including an absolute rating system, with stress on analytical thinking and rote learning as opposed to creativity.

1. 1
EDUCATION SYSTEM IN FRANCE
Fernando Alcoforado *
The education system in France was analyzed using as a basis the content of the
following articles: 1) Educação na França (Education in France) available on the
website <http://escolainterligada.com.br/blog/educacao-na-franca>; 2) O sistema
educacional francês (The French educational system) available on the website
<http://frances.forumdeidiomas.com.br/2010/09/o-sistema-educacional-frances/>; 3)
Organização do Ensino na França (Organization of Teaching in France) available on
the website <http://www.apebfr.org/interno/manualapeb/html/c578.htm>; 4) Sistema
educacional francês é alvo de críticas (French educational system is criticized)
available on the website <http://opiniaoenoticia.com.br/sem-categoria/sistema-
educacional-frances-e-alvo-de-criticas/>; 5) As universidades e as grandes Écoles que
se destacam na França (Universities and large Ecoles that stand out in France)
available on the website <http://universidadesfrancesas.com.br/melhores-universidades-
mundo/>; and, 6) França não possui um ensino relevante, diz chefe do Pisa (France
doesn´t have a relevant education, says head of Pisa) available on the website
<http://porvir.org/franca-nao-possui-um-ensino-relevante-diz-chefe-pisa/>.
Education in France is public, from the Maternelle (Pre-school) to the Lycée (High
School). Schooling is compulsory from 6 to 16 years and the education system is
centralized and controlled by the French Ministry of Education, whose budget is the
highest of all ministries. The educational system in France is divided into five different
levels: 1) École Maternelle (Pre-school, students from 2 to 5 years of age); 2) École
Primaire or élémentaire (Primary School or Elementary, first 4 years of basic
education, students from 6 to 10 years of age); 3) Collège (Middle School, last 4 years
of basic education, students from 11 to 15 years of age); 4) Lycée (High school, students
from 16 to 18 years of age); and, 5) Université (University).
Schools from Pre-school to High school work Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and
Fridays from 9am to 12pm and from 13h30 to 16h30 and on Saturdays from 9am to
12pm. Wednesdays does not hold classes. Schools also work on the nursery system,
meaning they gets the children at 7.30 and cares to 18h. At the time of 12h to 13h30,
children can have lunch at school. Summer vacation, the longest of the year take place
from July to August for students of the High school, and from July to September for
university students. The Christmas holidays last approximately 15 days.
In the Pre-school, kindergarten is optional and children can start school with two years
of age. Although these schools are also financed by the state, participation is optional
and the vacancy is not guaranteed, especially for children under the age of 2 years.
Virtually all French children are literate before they start Primary school. The Primary
or Elementary School corresponds to first 4 years of basic education incorporating
students from six to ten years old. The first two years are preliminary. Children learn to
read. Reading skills are tested in the first half. Many primary schools have introduced
English classes. The Middle School matches the last 4 years of basic education. Where
students must study is usually determined by your address, but parents can request
transfer to another school.
Basic Education, from Primary School or Elementary to Middle School, have groups of
counselors, teachers and parents, a class council that monitors student progress and,
ultimately decides whether they can advance to the next grade. Students are subject to

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the nationally administered tests to get a degree called “brevet des colleges”. Similarly,
the class council makes important decisions about which "way" a student must follow.
The study foreign language, usually English, is required.
The High school lasts for three years. It is known as the determination cycle when
students take the same curriculum, with around eight themes, but are offered three
electives and an artistic workshop. At the end of the year, the key decision is made on
which baccalauréat the student will do. There are three general baccalauréat: literature
and language (L), science and mathematics (S) and economics and social sciences (ES).
The bac S is considered the most difficult. There are also eight other baccalauréat
technologique or diplomas based on specific technical knowledge, including laboratory
work, but there are also music and dance. A baccalauréat guarantee entry to a
university. Submit to the test is a truly frightening experience. All students must take
the dreaded philosophy test. If students' grades are poor, they can undergo two
additional oral examinations in any subject, to try to recover the lost points.
The hard French grading system is so strict that it is almost impossible to achieve the
maximum score in the baccalauréat, the exam invented by Napoleon Bonaparte, which
marks the end of the school term and admission to the universities. In 2010, just over 30
students - about 0.006% of subscribers - managed to hit all the exam questions. The
French system has several quite commendable points, for example, its meritocratic
character, since the best schools in the country are public. The broad nature of the
baccalauréat, which no imposes previous expertise and gives all students a grounding
in subjects such as philosophy and languages is an advantage.
France offers public and private schools at all levels. Educational standards are
generally high. The rigorous curriculum is dictated by the Ministry of Education and is
practically the same across the country and in the French territories. Teachers are
considered public workers and the teachers' unions are very powerful officials. Teacher
strikes are frequent and often they are cited as the main reason for French families opt
for private schools, which are overwhelmingly Catholic. The education system in
France emphasizes the teacher's authority, the individual competition, including an
absolute rating system, with stress on analytical thinking and rote learning as opposed to
creativity. The French did not expect, necessarily, that their children have "fun" at
school. Sports are encouraged but organized by community associations, not by schools.
Schooling is free and compulsory between the ages 6-16 years, although almost all
French children start school at age 4. The school calendar is 26 hours per week and
students who are preparing for the baccalauréat can be up to 40 hours a week. A school
day is typically three hours in the morning and three in the afternoon, with a lunch break
of two hours. Children can go home for lunch or stay in school paying for lunch (la
cantine). The French school year starts in September and ends in July. Private schools
are both "sous contrat" that is under contract with the government, through which the
government pays teachers' salaries and school following a curriculum and national
schedule, or "hors contrat" which are not financed by government. Private Schools
"sous contrat" require a relatively modest tuition fees as the school "hors contrat" are
significantly higher. There are public schools with bilingual programs, but in most
cases, a bilingual education is only available in a private school.
In an interview with Le Monde newspaper in 2014, Andreas Schleicher, Organization
education director for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and
responsible for the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), said that

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France is poorly positioned because they do not know how to deal with teachers.
Schleicher cites the positive results brought about by the reform of education in
Germany in the past decade and more recently in Italy as role models. For him, the
French school is uneven and even efforts to increase the time that children remain in
school and the early age for enrollment appear insufficient. The director of the OECD
also says that France "has no relevant teaching" because it does not teach how to cross
disciplines and arouse curiosity, how demand the labor market.
As for universities in France, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne is the most prominent in
History, Philosophy, Geography, Accounting, Finance, Economics and Law. The
UPMC - Université Pierre et Marie Curie excels in Biology, Medicine, Life Sciences
and of Earth, Environmental Sciences and Statistics. Paris 4 Sorbonne excels in
Literature, Modern Languages and Literature. Globally, the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
is ranked 13th in History being ahead of all other continental European universities. The
Sciences Po Paris is in 13th place worldwide in political science and is the fourth in
Europe standing behind Oxford, LSE (London School of Economics) and Cambridge.
Regarding the French engineering schools, the École Polytechnique and the INP
Grenoble have featured two courses in France: Mathematics and Mechanics in the case
of the École Polytechnique; in Electrical and Electronics and Materials Science at
Grenoble INP. In Computer Science, ENS Paris ranks first among the French schools,
just ahead of the École Polytechnique. In Chemistry, the École Polytechnique is in
second place behind the University of Strasbourg. In Urbanism, the Insa Lyon is the
highest ranking, ahead of the École Centrale de Nantes. Agro Paris Tech is placed ahead
of the Université de Strasbourg in Agriculture. In the global ranking, the École
Polytechnique stands out particularly in mathematics (21 place in the world, while the
ENS Paris is 45).
The ministry of education, in Paris, annually determines how many hours a week should
be devoted to each subject. There is little evidence to show that this policy translates
into better use for students. Students who failed to keep his grades are required to repeat
the year. 38% of pupils aged 15 have repeated the year at least once, a high number
compared to the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) of 13%. Studies show that French students record the highest
levels of stress and anxiety. Each year, averages of 130,000 students leave school
without a diploma. "The gap between the best students and those in difficulty gets
bigger every year," says a study by the Cour des Comptes, the state auditor organ, held
in early 2010. The faculty of the French system of more than 1 million teachers
education is full of powerful lobbies who advocate subjects, teachers, students and other
corporate interests, fiercely. There is an interest in maintaining the system exactly as it
is. Despite the problems, the education system in France is an efficient highly qualified
elite’s generator.
*Fernando Alcoforado, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor of Territorial
Planning and Regional Development from the University of Barcelona, a university professor and
consultant in strategic planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is
the author of Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova
(Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São
Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado.
Universidade de Barcelona, http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e
Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX
e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of
the Economic and Social Development-The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller
Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe

4. 4
Planetária (P&A Gráfica e Editora, Salvador, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e
combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011),
Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012) and
Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV,
Curitiba, 2015).