Calls to replace absent teachers have been a central demand in a high school students’ mobilization that began in mid-September, according to a column by Armand Hatchuel, a professor of management science. He argues that the issue reflects a deeper question about whether democratic political systems are well suited to running public services effectively.
Hatchuel points to a 1921 report by administrative theorist Henri Fayol on the management of France’s Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones service. Fayol argued that political turnover disrupted continuity: successive officials set aside their predecessors’ plans, long-term investment was difficult to sustain, and uniform rules for staff left little room to reward initiative or respond to local needs.
The criticism was followed by the separation of the PTT budget from the state budget in 1923. France Télécom and La Poste were established later, in 1991. Hatchuel says the state has also entrusted public-service responsibilities in areas including transport, nuclear power and healthcare to large organizations or state-owned companies, while retaining the status of their staff.
He presents this delegation as a way to shield democratic government from responsibilities that may be difficult to manage directly, such as guaranteeing free, very-high-speed internet access everywhere. For education, he argues, overcoming structural difficulties requires public governance that is responsive to the service’s needs and less exposed to political turbulence.
Sources: Le Monde Économie.