Restructuring or revolution. Education is about to take a major turn. According to reliable sources, series A, C, and D will disappear from the baccalaureate starting this year. They will be replaced by series L (Literature), S (Science), and OSE (Organization, Society, Economy). In truth, this is hardly breaking news, given that these new series have been tested at the baccalaureate since 2021. Mere coincidence or pale imitation, it happened at the same moment when the French bac abandoned series L (Literature), ES (Economics and Social), and S (Sciences). Since then, series have changed in the French bac. Are we fighting yesterday's war? We don't know. The fact remains that the French bac was redefined according to the country's employment needs, new technology requirements, and development priorities.
Until now, series A, C, and D trained future baccalaureate holders in literature, mathematics, physics, and sciences. As we can see, new baccalaureate holders struggle to navigate the higher education opportunities offered by universities and private and public institutes. Worse, later, many new graduates find themselves on the streets due to lack of budgeted positions and because their specialties find no takers. Training-employment alignment remains a genuine problem. Underemployment is commonplace. Young graduates take the first job available, even if it's not their specialty at all. They accept salaries far below their qualifications. They feel they've wasted their time. After years of study, they are useless in the job market.
We hope the new secondary education program will aim to remedy this situation. Henceforth, the new series must enable young people to train to be useful later. During the First Republic, there existed in lycées what was called "special second year" that trained future medical students. The reform brought by the 1972 revolution reset everything. We remain in generalist training for professions useful for civil service, but unproductive in terms of added value for the economy and development.
Yet we know how much the country needs doctors (one doctor per six thousand inhabitants, one specialist per one hundred thousand), teachers (one teacher per forty students), entrepreneurs, IT technicians. Independence returned at a time when we had nothing to support it. We find ourselves more dependent than ever. And to this day, we cannot escape it. We place great hope in the Refoundation to reset everything and start fresh. It is crucial and vital for development and the future of young people. Fingers crossed.
Sylvain Ranjalahy