Paris, January 20 (Wang Qinming) On Wednesday, January 17, the Parcoursup platform is open to graduating French high school students, through which they can apply for admission to public universities until March 14. There are also some French students who have switched to private schools other than Parcoursup, and the number of such schools in France is increasing rapidly.
Since private universities in France do not have a unified accreditation, some students are unfortunately deceived. After graduating from high school in 2021, Martin enrolled in Campus Academy, a private school in Aix-en-Provence, a university town in southern France. Not only does this school offer the IT program that Martin has always dreamed of, but it also has a beautiful and well-decorated environment. In the second year of college, the school had a series of problems, the school no longer provided Wi-Fi, then the heating was stopped, and finally the electricity was cut off. As time went on, teachers left one after another because they couldn't get paid.
In February 2023, the school administration announced the closure of the school, leaving 130 students left to fend for themselves. Campus Academy was founded by Michel Ohayon, a French businessman. O'Hayon is a well-known businessman whose consortium has led to the bankruptcy of several companies, including Camaïeu, Go Sport and Gap France. Martin explained that they need to repay the bank's tuition loan, which is up to 6,800 to 9,000 euros a year, and they also have to continue to pay rent, and the most terrible thing is that they don't have any diploma. The students had no idea that the school would be closed, and some students had already taken legal action to file a lawsuit.
The number of private universities in France has exploded in recent years. Twenty-five years ago, private schools made up only 5 or 6 percent of students in higher education, but today they are more than 26 percent.
Some private schools play with words and offer so-called "master's" (mastères) that have nothing to do with the recognized "master's" diploma. There are also diplomas issued by schools that are not recognized by the state at all. For many French parents and students, it is not easy to figure out all the different terms of diplomas, degrees and certifications. In 2023, Fighting Fraud conducted a survey that found that one-third of the 80 schools inspected had "misleading business practices." The French Education Ombudsman recently denounced the lack of transparency in the operations of private schools.
In fact, many of these new schools are owned by business groups or pension funds that demand quick return on investment, and the schools are run for profit. The rapid growth of these new "universities" has also overshadowed the state-recognized large private business schools and other schools such as the Skema Business School, the Essec Business School and the Journalist Training Center (CFJ).
Laurent Champaney, president of the Alliance of French Universities, said: "As a private or non-profit institution, we are committed to improving the quality of teaching. For us, this means that our business model is under pressure. At the same time, we also see operators who don't have any restrictions and do whatever they want because their business model is very profitable, so they do a lot of marketing." The agency called on the government to tighten regulations on private schools.
The collaboration has just launched its own platform, "Parcours privé", which is the Parcoursup of private schools. The two websites are very different, "Parcours privé" is an information site, not an application site. Students can go to the corresponding schools and platforms to apply after consulting the information on the platform.