French Higher Education System - The Grandes Écoles

French Higher Education System - The Grandes Écoles

Introduction

Education always plays a vital role in cultivating elites for a country. If we glimpse into the educational system of a country, we could have an understanding in how it raises the future leaders of the society. France is going to spend 50.1% of its budget on national education, meanwhile spending another 26.7% of the budget on higher education and research, according to its ‘’Projet de loi de finances pour 2017’’ published in September 2016. It is the first time in five years for national education to become the most important item of expenditure of the State. Being a country that values education highly, it is noteworthy that France has established the system of grandes écoles since 1794. Such system is so unique that we can hardly find in another country. Notwithstanding, it has provoked much debate in the society and criticisms are held against it. Given that, the question that strikes us is how do the grandes écoles shows the uniqueness of French educational system. This report aims at discussing the grandes écoles by tracing its historical development and its role and feature in France. We will also look into the comparison of the duplication in China and the one in France. In addition, differences between French universities and the grandes écoles will be analysed. At last, criticism against the grandes écoles will be examined in this report.

Definition of Grandes Écoles

First and foremost, grandes écoles, together with universities, is a part of the French higher education two-tier system. Nevertheless, how should one define the word - grandes écoles? There is no standard definition or official list of grandes écoles. The term is not employed in the Code of Education, except a quotation in the social statistics. Different scholars had a divergent view on the its definition. For example, according to ‘’French Management: Elitism in Action’’ written by Jean-Louis Barsoux and Peter Lawrence, they defined it as a diversified ensemble of small or medium-sized autonomous establishments which were created outside the traditional university stream in response to precise sectoral needs, notably in engineering, applied science and management science.

Classification of Grandes Écoles

Students who wish to be admitted into the grandes écoles are required to sit in a competitive entrance examination. Before the entrance examination, they attend the preparatory classes for the grandes écoles (classes préparatoires des grandes écoles/CPGE) with a minimum duration of 2 years. In ‘’The French Education System’’ written by H.D. Lewis, the preparatory classes are divided into 5 types: The first is the science class with mathematics predomination; the second specialises in biology and agriculture; the third focuses on veterinary sciences; the fourth studies business while the fifth studies literary.

Upon passing the entrance examination, students are admitted to the grandes écoles. In general, the grandes écoles can be segregated into a few categories: The first type is Écoles Normales Supérieures; the second is Écoles d'ingénieurs; the third is business schools; the fourth is administrative schools; the fifth is military officer academies while the sixth type is communication, journalism and media schools.

Brief Historical Development

Looking back to history, the word ‘’grandes écoles’’ first appeared in 1794, after the French Revolution. The École Normale Supérieure created by the National Convention, the École Polytechnique created by Gaspard Monge and Lazare Carnot and the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers created by Henri Grégoire were considered as the pioneer of grandes écoles. In 19th century, more grandes écoles were being set up. The objective was to develop education in newer fields of work such as science and technology. Consequently, the French higher education has been functioning as a dual system. They are created in response to the society’s needs for professional training. Students attending these schools enjoy prestige such as high status and access to administration or academics.

Number of Grandes Écoles

Nonetheless, it is difficult to find out the exact number of the grandes écoles. The Ministry of Education can only provide the estimated number. There are 160 institutions that were classified as grandes écoles, under the condition that they recruit students from preparatory classes and the entrance examination. 50 of them are business schools while 110 of them are engineering schools.

Role in France

The main role of grandes écoles is to cultivate elites for the French society. It is the prime reason why these schools were set up. To illustrate this, we can take Sciences Po (Institut d'études politiques) as an example. By presenting itself as an elite training school, it trains train governmental officials and creates a high sphere for politics and economy. Moreover, there are hardly any countries where so many of the principal political figures are former students of the same school such as the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and many other ministers. François Hollande, alongside with other former French Presidents like Nicolas Sarkozy, Jacques Chirac and Georges Pompidou, attended the Institut d'études politiques de Paris.

Contributing Factors for its Success

Some features of the grandes écoles contribute to its success. The first is its link with professional world. Many of the business schools have a tight relationship with the local Chambers of Commerce such as Ecoles des hautes études commerciales in Paris and Ecoles supérieures de commerce in towns like Le Havre, Marseille or Bordeaux. The high reach with related industry brings the good job prospect. Students are expected to enter management positions upon graduation. The graduates are demonstrably better than their orgainsational subordinates, resulting in favoritism of enterprises.

Another factor is its rapid adaptation to change. The grandes écoles see clearly and understand what employers need. The ESCAE (Ecoles supérieures de commerce et d’administration des entreprises) have responded to changes. The ESCAE in Grenoble was set up fulfill the lack of marking executives able to work to work on the home market and all over the world. It also emphasises on selling industrial products which the French claimed they could be better at.

The third feature is its effort in integrating into existing structures. Some écoles d’ingénieurs hire teaching staff from technically advanced industry and they help to run course regularly. This provides students the on-the-job training. The above features are the keys for the success of the grandes écoles.

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