[ilv2]

big news, perhaps for some, but the AN has passed the government's proposal to reform France's universities:

L'Assemblée nationale a adopté mercredi 25 juillet, le projet de loi de la ministre de l'enseignement supérieur, Valérie Pécresse, qui prévoit la généralisation de l'autonomie budgétaire et de gestion des ressources humaines à toutes les universités d'ici cinq ans. Le texte adopté par le Sénat le 12 juillet a cependant été légèrement modifié par les députés sans pour autant remettre en question l'esprit du projet de Mme Pécresse...

...Par ailleurs, contre l'avis de Valérie Pécresse, un amendement de Claude Goasguen (UMP), réservant la fonction de président d'université aux seuls enseignants-chercheurs, a été adopté à l'unanimité, barrant ainsi la voie à l'élection de non-universitaires.

Dès le début de l'examen du texte, l'opposition SRC (Socialiste, radical et citoyen) et GDR (Gauche démocrate et républicaine - PCF/Verts) avait protesté contre "les pouvoirs exorbitants des présidents d'université". Elle avait aussi demandé, en vain, des garde-fous sur le recrutement de contractuels "pour qu'ils ne se substituent pas aux enseignants-chercheurs statutaires".

text and article from Le Monde

it still needs to be examined by a commission composed of both deputies and senators, but it looks like it'll pass with no problem. Now, i'd be very interested in hearing some points of view. IIRC a while back, Pierre-Henri posted an essay by a PS member condemning all academic freedom and liberty in education. What impact will this reform have upon that stance, if any?

[Douai]

I read this on Le Monde recently. Interesting development.

[Pierre-Henri]

And yet ... we had so many "reforms" that we wonder if this one can work. French university knows (at least) one major reform per year. And yet, at the very end, it's always the same thing.

To give more power to the universities can only be a good thing. Today, the ministery decides nearly everything. The university can't recruit ; it can't give funds to lab A rather than to lab B ; it can't choose the cursus structure, the exam system or the basic requirements to pass ; it can't have specific research policies, and so on.

However, like all the other academic policies before it, this one doesn't take into consideration the major issue : le bac.

The reaction of the craziest leftists is easy to predict. As usual, they will use students to bring the mess into the country. Someone like Besancenot clearly said that he didn't care about ballot boxes, and that they will carry on the struggle vs evil forces of capitalist oppression. They still have plenty of influence on some campuses.

As for the PS, as usual, they'll try to get credit for the situation, by pouring gas on the flames. Even if people like Aschieri or Frackowiak aren't the sharpest tools in the shed*, they still rule at the PS. In other words, the PS will use to situation in order to pretend it's still alive.

Anyway, France doesn't care much about its universities. More or less, they have become a dump for poor people, where they wait a few year before unemployement. As long as the "Grandes Ecoles" are safe, any demonstration at Universities will be of little consequence. University is like some sort of political theatre set ; it's a place where the governement and the opposition let the poors play (and only play) at the revolution, while the important people send their children at the ENA, the ENS, HEC, Cambridge or Yale.

-------------
* understatement.

[blackjack]

Et à partir de hier, à cause de cette “réforme,” on fait la grève dans les universités françaises. A ma fac, l’université de Montpellier 3, l’assemblée générale des étudiants a pris la décision de bloquer la fac afin de protester la privatisation et les frais d’inscription qui deviennent de plus en plus important. En tant qu’étudiant étranger, j’aurais normalement le droit de continuer à travailler, mais on verra. Pendant quelques semaines je vais profiter de ne pas avoir de cours, mais je crois que ça pourrait être assez chiant au bout d’un mois.

[Pierre-Henri]

Originally Posted by blackjack

En tant qu’étudiant étranger, j’aurais normalement le droit de continuer à travailler, mais on verra. Pendant quelques semaines je vais profiter de ne pas avoir de cours, mais je crois que ça pourrait être assez chiant au bout d’un mois.

So, you have a taste of what the French academic life really is :


A mascarade. A farce. A depressing drama during which everybody plays his part, with the same lines and the sames words as they always did. Have you seen the movie "Groudhog Day" ? That's France today. Especially university.

And the worst thing of all : these gawks really believe in what they're doing. Even some distinguished professors will suddenly fancy themselves as the Che Guevara and will jump on the barricades. They will talk about the revolution vs capitalism and give inspired speeches about the oppressive state(*). They'll march and sing song. They'll make silly "democratic" AG where the local idiotic loudmouth will have his moment of glory. They'll boo and cheer. The government will look stiff at first, and then, after a while, will capitulate. The success rate at the exams will magically bounce to the skies (**).

In short : they'll repeat all the mistakes that caused the failure, making things worse, which will lead to others riots in a few years, riots that will provoke another set of incredibly demagogic measures, that will worsen the situation, that will lead to other riots, and so on, and so on, and so on, until the end of times...

... or, until France is unable to pay anymore (many universities are already in a situation of nonpayment)...
... or until everybody has a Phd and there is no more diplomas to sell off...
... or until the thirdworldization is complete ...
... or until civil war.


-------------------------------
(*) Yes, they believe the State is oppressing them. However, as communists, they want more intervention by the State. Don't try to understand.
(**) the baccalauréat is at 85 %. What will they do when it'll reach 100% ? Give two diplomas to every student, in order to quiet them down ? A 200 % success rate ?

[Catel]

Originally Posted by Pierre-Henri

So, you have a taste of what the French academic life really is :


A mascarade. A farce. A depressing drama during which everybody plays his part, with the same lines and the sames words as they always did. Have you seen the movie "Groudhog Day" ? That's France today. Especially university.

And the worst thing of all : these gawks really believe in what they're doing. Even some distinguished professors will suddenly fancy themselves as the Che Guevara and will jump on the barricades. They will talk about the revolution vs capitalism and give inspired speeches about the oppressive state(*). They'll march and sing song. They'll make silly "democratic" AG where the local idiotic loudmouth will have his moment of glory. They'll boo and cheer. The government will look stiff at first, and then, after a while, will capitulate. The success rate at the exams will magically bounce to the skies (**).

In short : they'll repeat all the mistakes that caused the failure, making things worse, which will lead to others riots in a few years, riots that will provoke another set of incredibly demagogic measures, that will worsen the situation, that will lead to other riots, and so on, and so on, and so on, until the end of times...

... or, until France is unable to pay anymore (many universities are already in a situation of nonpayment)...
... or until everybody has a Phd and there is no more diplomas to sell off...
... or until the thirdworldization is complete ...
... or until civil war.


-------------------------------
(*) Yes, they believe the State is oppressing them. However, as communists, they want more intervention by the State. Don't try to understand.
(**) the baccalauréat is at 85 %. What will they do when it'll reach 100% ? Give two diplomas to every student, in order to quiet them down ? A 200 % success rate ?

I couldn't more agree you.


I just created the term of "gaucho-fascistes" to point the """""democratic""""" system of AGs.


(in brief: it is a vote by hand, there are 1500 students, a half raise their hand to say "yes", the other half raise their hand to say "no" and 5 seconds after the leader says the "yes" won. Soviet Union is not dead !)

[Pierre-Henri]

Originally Posted by Catel

(in brief: it is a vote by hand, there are 1500 students, a half raise their hand to say "yes", the other half raise their hand to say "no" and 5 seconds after the leader says the "yes" won. Soviet Union is not dead !)

Indeed. To use the crowd to control the crowd is the oldest trick of all.

As for the professors who play this silly game, I like to call them "anarcho-fonctionnaires".

They want job security, and they want the revolution. They hate the institution, but they want more security from the institution. As I said, they think they are oppressed by the State, but they want more State control. They want freedom, but they don't want more autonomy.

Since I don't want to start an academic war, I won't say that most of these researchers are social sciences specialists. I should not. So I won't say that a few lessons of classical rhetoric and formal logic would serve them greatly.

An old joke used to say that the most difficult exam in sociology was to fill in the application form.

It was once funny. Unfortunately, all fields are at the same level, now.

[Pierre-Henri]

Typical American University :


Typical British University :


Typical French University :

[Nanbawan]

Originally Posted by Pierre-Henri

Typical French University :

Hey, I've crossed that gate for months ! And believe me that's not the worst part of Jussieu. That said, coming from Rennes, that was some kind of shock...


Hmmm...

There are some places I did not even dare to go in. Luckily, I was facing the Institut du Monde Arabe and a bit of Parisian sky so not too bad.



BTW, You picked Cambridge for the UKGBNI (Yeah, I've decided to use this country's full name from now, classy isn't it) ; you could have taken La Sorbonne for France.

[Pierre-Henri]

The Sorbonne ? Are you joking ? With the exception of the Ecole des Chartes, The Sorbonne is a dump. Less working space there for students than for chickens in the agribusiness*.

Even the Ecole Polytechnique has buildings that come straight from the sovietic era :




----------------
* not joking.