What the Bosses Said

The Grande Ecole debate rages on and on. Sarkozy spoke to the 'Monde de l'education et de la Recherche' the other day and repeated his view that grande écoles should have a more socially diverse intake. Rather than insist on quotas, he supports the system, already in place in some schools, of parallel admission procedures to enable those who distinguish themselves elsewhere to use that experience to support their application.

Le Figaro interviewed six top bosses from grande écoles and asked them what they thought about increasing social diversity, quotas, grant-assisted places and their fears that interfering with the system might devalue the final diploma.

For some, the problem of discrimination is not the fault of the grande écoles but one further up the system. Claude Bébéar (AXA) believes that a system of tutoring from primary level should be re-established and that children should be properly coached on their career prospects. Many kids dismiss the idea of applying for the top schools simply because they are not sufficiently encouraged and don't consider studying post-Bac for so many years.

Pierre Mongin (RATP) believes that businesses can help integrate a more socially diverse selection of students. At RATP, there is a Foundation partnered with HEC and l'université de Cergy-Pontoise which facilitates access to a certain number of talented students. RATP also offers sandwich possibilities to help students pay for their studies alternating work with studying, and the experience gained is, of course, greatly appreciated by employers.

Henri Lachmann (Schneider Electric) presides over the Télémaque Foundation which helps kids from the ZEP (zones d'éducation prioritaires) get into the best lycées and accompanies them until the Bac. He believes that, rather than grants, students should take out special loans to be paid back over 5 years after the end of their studies. Universities, he says, aren't better because selection is achieved too often through failure (to get in somewhere else).

Mercedes Erra (groupe Euro RSCG) is another who believes that schools are failing in helping more kids gain access to the best schools and says that if tutoring becomes more important in achieving success than schooling then the social elevator (ascenseur social) has broken down. She's all for parallel admissions.

Jacques Attali (PlaNet Finance) believes that grant-assisted quotas are a short-term necessary evil, and that parallel admissions between institutions are a good idea. He also thinks that ZEP areas should have their own private schools and classes prépas, and that universities often let their students down by a lack of supervision.

Stéphane Richard (France Télécom) believes that quotas are also a necessary evil. Business, he says, should reflect society and it's clients so it should diversify its recrutement at every level. It's a question of good business and social responsibility.

Most are highly critical of l'education national because, since the sixties, it's been gradually ruined by destructive liberal lefty reforms. That, more than anything else, has brought about such social disparity. Sound familiar?!

Grandes Ecoles 101

...or how to train your child for the new noblesse. According to this article by Monique Dagnaud, France is the only country where your diplomas are still being spoken about and considered even when close to retirement. The nec plus ultra of French education is to go to one of the Grandes Ecoles which take only 5% of each generation. It doesn't guarantee a top job afterwards, but if you don't have one of the prestigious diplomas under your belt, your chances of greatness are severely diminished.

So how does your child achieve access to such hallowed portals? Well, it starts before birth. You, the parent, should preferably be a teacher. There is a strong over-representation of teacher's kids in the microcosm of the grandes écoles. Why? Because of the 'capital culturel' that teachers can offer their kids. A broad culture is actually more important than a family's economic resources. I've mentioned before that teachers are suspected of not teaching other people's children very well in order to reduce the competition for precious places, and this does rather support that notion.

Your child is born, feet on the starting block. Going to a good maternelle is essential. Already, by the age of 10, if your child is falling behind, the chances of catching up at primary school or later are very slim. Many children have private lessons at home to supplement the (lack of good) teaching they receive at school.

Once beyond maternelle, attending a good school is still important, and this will probably be in one of the main urban centres. Jumping a class is considered a Good Thing because it will make everyone look at your child favourably thanks to his precociousness.

Next he has to distinguish himself from his peers. This means taking a first language such as German or Russian although both the schools my son has attended at collège level don't offer German any more because of the lack of interest. Next, he should take a second language such as Greek or Latin. Improve his English by sending him to an (expensive) American holiday camp where the cosmopolitan variety of kids will oblige him to speak English (supposedly). There's no point sending him to a UK family in a group because he'll spend all his time with his French mates speaking French.

Most important, then is the cultural environment, including debating around the family table, cultural visits, travelling, mastering new technologies and, because he's getting such a crap education from his teachers, those all important private lessons. Neglect nothing in the combat for victory and consider your strategy carefully.

The only Bac worth having is the Bac S (sciences) and he'll have to work hard enough to get a 'good' or 'very good' grade if he wants to go further. However, all work and no play makes your child a very dull specimen, so he'll have to improve his personality with extra-curricular activities such as sport or art to such a level that he wins prizes and amazes the gallery.

Post-Bac come two or three years of exhausting unremitting effort at a classe préparatoire where your child will have to dedicate all his time to studying for the final entry exams. It's at this point that many (of the more imaginative) students, exhausted and demotivated by the frenzied competition, jump ship and head off to a university or the purgatory of a lesser school. This does not necessarily scupper their chances for a good career, but there is a glass ceiling that works against managers lacking the most prestigious diplomas.

Becoming a member of the elite takes hard work and dedication by the whole family, and for those who succeed

"c'est comme l'anoblissement du temps de l'ancien régime: une place dans les allées du pouvoir, et un pedigree flatteur".

Are French bosses so much better than German, American or British or any others on the planet? Are French companies that much more successful?

Is all that effort worth it?