According to figures available on the Cyclades platform of the Ministry of National Education, compiled by unions and the specialized agency AEF, 1,264 positions have not been filled out of the 8,174 positions open for the external competition of school teachers (the main one of the existing competitions).

In total, 84.5% of the positions offered were filled, compared to 75.7% in 2022.

Unsurprisingly, the academies of Versailles, Créteil and French Guiana, traditionally in deficit, are particularly affected: 605 candidates admitted to Créteil for 1,166 posts (i.e. 561 unfilled posts), 707 in Versailles for 1,285 posts (578 unfilled posts) and 50 in French Guiana for 165 posts (115 unfilled posts).

Last year, for the first degree, all the first degree competitions allowed the admission of 8,265 candidates for 9,951 posts.

"The recruitment crisis has become a real haemorrhage that nothing can stop," said the general secretary of the SE-Unsa union, Elisabeth Allain-Moreno, in a statement. For her, it is "vital that the Ministry of National Education reacts".

She points to a "dramatic collapse" in the Ile-de-France academies of Créteil and Versailles and Guyana, where the difficulties are traditionally greater.

In a February 2023 report, the Court of Auditors pointed to "major recruitment tensions" in the two largest academies of France, Créteil and Versailles, in the first degree. "In addition, the grades obtained, even if they can always be relativized, in the competitions of teacher of schools in the academy of Créteil, or even Versailles, attest to worrying weaknesses of many candidates but also winners of competitions," added the financial magistrates.

For Guislaine David, general secretary of Snuipp-FSU, the first primary school union, "there are fewer jobs lost this year than last year" but "we still lose a lot".

According to her, "every year, there is a cumulative loss of positions".

Last year, the recruitment of teachers (first and second degrees combined) experienced an unprecedented crisis, with more than 4,000 unfilled positions in total, causing a stir in the world of education.

- 'Vicious circle' -

"We are waiting for the results of the secondary school competitions but we already know that there will be the same problem of attractiveness, especially in maths," according to Caroline Brisedoux, national secretary of the Sgen-CFDT.

Contacted by AFP, the Ministry of Education did not officially communicate at this stage, stressing that "the figures are not yet consolidated". In particular, the department of Mayotte is still waiting for results.

But the ministry has already announced that it will use the candidates registered on the complementary lists (not received in the competitions this year but well ranked), as requested by the unions, "in order to prepare the return to school in the best conditions".

"This authorization comes early compared to last year" to allow academies to assign them "at the same time as those on the main list," he defended himself to AFP.

With the crisis in the recruitment of teachers, the use of contract workers has become essential to compensate for shortages. Thus, "express" recruitment sessions have taken place in recent weeks in various academies in France. These newly recruited teachers will be in front of classes as early as September.

"The recruitment of teachers in 20 minutes, it's still the pompom!", panic Grégoire Ensel, president of the federation of parents of students FCPE. "It is a vicious circle that must be stopped by urgently upgrading the teaching profession, which is still the most beautiful in the world," he said.

Pap Ndiaye had anticipated last May a "better back-to-school" in September. "But we still have a long way to go" in the face of persistent difficulties in recruiting teachers, he acknowledged.

© 2023 AFP