After the many alerts launched by the students, the government announced a resumption of tutorials (TD) in face-to-face in half-groups for first-year students. This resumption is due to take place on January 25.

This measure will then extend, “if the health situation allows it, to students of other levels,” added the Prime Minister, expressing the “concern” of the government at the “deep feeling of isolation, but also the real difficulties educational “students.

To read also: “This confinement is a real ordeal” for the students

Go back to face-to-face

“It is imperative that we can progressively trace this path together which will allow us to move from a majority of remote teaching to a majority of face-to-face lessons, in accordance with what the Prime Minister has just announced and with due respect of the university calendar, “continued Minister of Higher Education, Frédérique Vidal.

“From tomorrow, (…) we are going to build the conditions allowing this phased resumption of teaching in higher education. Memoranda of understanding will have to prevent the mixing of students, guarantee the rules of distancing, they will have to prevent students from staying on. site for daytime breaks, “said the minister.

“We must reopen the universities”

Jean Castex received this January 15 morning the university community, including the student union UNEF, “to specify the conditions and modalities of the evolutions of a progressive face-to-face return”.

Mélanie Luce, president of UNEF, was not convinced by the government’s proposals. According to her, to relieve the mental health of students, we must drastically improve their pedagogical support. “We insisted, with all the rest of the university community, on the need to open universities, adapting to health constraints, but so that all students can come. “

For this, the president proposes to hire more tutorials in order to duplicate the courses. “A lot of people are already trained and you just have to hire them. The lecturers are doctoral students, those who do not have funding for their theses would be very happy to take care of it. For this semester, the universities are still currently being recruited, now is the time to act. “

A “mental health check”

According to the president of UNEF, “the government is below the expectations of the students”. She concedes that the ministers heard a demand with the forthcoming implementation of a “mental health check”, which would allow students to follow several psychological consultations for free. However, “the mental health of students cannot improve just with this check.”

Mélanie Luce insists on this point: “Our assessment is that despite some progress, the government continues to be disconnected. It is a question of life or death, students are dying of hunger and anguish. even commit suicide, we must act now. “

“The future of our youth is at stake”

Frédérique Vidal also explained that “in conjunction with the teams from the Ministry of Solidarity and Health, individual or collective screenings will be deployed, antigen tests will be made available to university health services and all this will be done in close partnership with the rectorates and health authorities to enable us to monitor the evolution of the epidemic in the establishments “.

Frédérique Vidal hoped that “the second semester can take place in the best possible conditions, while waiting for the vaccination campaign to allow us to return to normal life on university campuses, in schools and higher education establishments”. “The future of our youth is at stake,” she said.

“We are mobilized to provide the best support to the 2.7 million students who are the future of our country. Numerous systems have been put in place to financially support students since the first day of the health crisis, we will continue these efforts but we know that they are not enough “, she admitted.