Children in France will start school at the age of three instead of six, under new reforms announced by President Emmanuel Macron. The change will give France one of the lowest compulsory school starting ages in Europe. But it will only affect a small number of children, as the majority of French families already choose to send their children to nursery school at three. Only 2.4% of children are not enrolled at that age, government figures show.
Mr Macron said the change was intended to reduce inequality in education, as parents in poorer areas of France and in overseas territories are less likely to send their children to nursery school.
In Paris, 93% of three-year-olds are enrolled but the figure is much lower in some overseas territories, according to Le Monde.
"I hope that with this obligation, from the start of the school year in 2019, we can... correct this unacceptable differential," Mr Macron told a conference on Tuesday.
He hailed the change as "a founding moment in the French education system".
Age of children starting school in European countries
Four: Northern Ireland
Five: Cyprus, England, Malta, Scotland, Wales
Six: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey
Seven: Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Sweden
Source: National Foundation for Educational Research
No comments:
Post a Comment