Until now, compulsory education in France was developed between the ages of six and 16, as in Spain. Despite this, the reality is that most children attended school after three years, specifically the 97,6% According to official data, something similar to what happens in our country.
Well, this Tuesday the president, Emmanuel Macron, has announced that From the 2019/2020 academic year the school will be compulsory as of three years. The measure has received criticism of all kinds, some believe that as confirmed by the figures, it only has a symbolic character while others support that the educational value of children is reinforced from three to six years old.
Why bind?
That is the question that many ask themselves. If according to the data, almost 100% go to school after three years, why bind?
Macron He argues his decision on several grounds:
- Give recognition to nursery school.
- Make the school a place of real equality where everyone begins their education at the same time in a similar environment.
- Eliminate that image that persecutes nursery schools that welcome children between three and six years of "child care" or places where parents leave their children when they do not know what to do with them while they work.
- Shield the free.
- Enable more public places.
- Generate jobs thanks to the hiring 800 teachers.
What happens in Spain?
In our country, education is compulsory from six to 16 years and we have the second highest early school dropout rate in the EU, only surpassed by Malta.
Despite this, most children start school at three years old but the percentages drop a lot in Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla.
This measure would only serve to standardize schooling but would not influence other factors such as free, already existing. In fact, the shortage of places usually exists at the stage of zero to three years, not from that age.
Mandatory education in Europe
If you look at the rest of Europe, the truth is that the country that formerly forces children to start school is Hungary, at three years old, followed by Luxembourg with four years, Cyprus where children start with four years and eight months , United Kingdom between four and five.
With five years they start in Greece, Austria, Bulgaria, Latvia, Malta and the Netherlands.
Then we reach the age of six, mandatory age for most countries like ours: Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Finland, Romania, Belgium, Portugal and Germany.
However, there are also more laggards that begin with seven years as it happens to children in Estonia and Sweden.
Another important fact is the age at which it is mandatory to finish studies. The majority are usually 16 years of age, however in countries such as Belgium, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands they must do so until they are of age.
The true cause, the conciliation
So far we have talked about children as mere data but there is a reality that we have not treated until now, family and work reconciliation.
A few years ago the school began in Spain at five years, then passed at four and so on until the current three. All this without being obligatory but being something habitual, something that supposes a social pressure because being realistic, who cares but our children?
The educational system is designed like this, to take our children to a nursery school with only four months to three years and from there to school (some will even enter with two). For many parents there is no choice.
But, if work hours allowed, would almost 100% of children really enter school at age three? Maybe not. Probably many parents would choose to be at home with them or maybe they would end up in another new social pressure: "take him to socialize which is better for him." What do you think?
