French pupils bribed to go to class

The French government is trying the carrot instead of the stick this time around. And not just any old carrot. As of 5 October three vocational schools on the outskirts of Paris are experimenting with the use of financial incentives to stop kids from cutting class. In monetary terms: each class gets a kitty of €2,000, which can be increased to €10,000 by the end of the school year if the pupils show sufficient diligence. The money can then be used to buy computer equipment, fund class trips etc. The news has sparked an outcry among parents and teachers’ unions, reports Libération: a justifiable reaction, opines the French daily, to a measure that “flies in the face of old-established principles of the French Republic, namely that school and knowledge are not for sale.”