Jules Ferry laws

Jules Ferry, a lawyer holding the office of Minister of Public Instruction in the 1880s, is widely credited for creating the modern Republican school (l'école républicaine).

However, in each of these systems, the Catholic Church provided an alternative to secular schooling that was often the only option for families in economically depressed regions of France.

Although the Republican party is often credited for inventing the concept of free primary school, it was, in fact, a series of progressive improvements since mid-century.

For example, in 1698, it was decreed that children ages 7–14 were to attend local Catholic schools with certified instructors, which were also added to areas that previously had none.

[2] The idea of national government support for popular education and teacher training first became apparent as an important social and political issue during the French Revolution of 1789.

With the intention of strengthening France's politics and armed forces, a growing concentration on higher education was later seen after the Revolution, notably from Napoleon I in his establishment of the Imperial University in 1804-8.

[5] The Falloux Act of 15 March 1850 abolished teacher training programs for men which had been put in place by the Guizot Law.

These laws created a mixed system in which some primary education establishments were public and controlled by the state and others were under the supervision of Catholic congregations.

[6] Although the concept of universal public schooling was important to these revolutionaries, it became clear that financial issues and political debate thwarted the implementation.

"[8] The 1698[clarification needed] attempt would not have held sway with the Republican radicals of Ferry's generation, who would have seen it as Catholic propaganda and as a defense against the growing popularity of Protestantism.

Likewise, Napoleon's Imperial University remained connected to the Church and paid little heed to primary education that would ensure basic literacy needs among the larger population.

[10] On 16 June 1881 the first set of Jules Ferry Laws were passed, making primary education free for both boys and girls.

The measures of sections 18 and 44 of the Act of 15 March 1850 are repealed, in that they gave ministers of religion a right of inspection, supervision and management in public and private elementary schools and in the kindergartens (salle d’asile), as well as paragraph 2 of Article 31 of the Act, which gives consistories the right to present teacher candidates belonging to non-Catholic faiths.

This article makes compulsory primary education and lays down the requirements of age and manner of instruction (whether they will be schooled in the home or at a public or private institution).

This article explains the formation of school boards, national representation in Paris and Lyon, and the terms of office of the members.

This article discusses the graduation of students after they have completed the appropriate amount of primary education, determined by a public examination.

There shall be established a certificate of primary studies; it is awarded after a public examination which may be presented to children beginning from the age of eleven.

This article discusses further requirements of the parents or guardians in maintaining their child’s attendance, regulated by the student records kept by the municipal school boards.

When a child misses school temporarily, parents or persons responsible should inform the director or the directress the reasons for this absence.

At the end of each month, they will address to the mayor and the primary inspector a copy of the register, indicating the number of absences and reasons.

The only known legitimate reasons are: child's illness, death of a family member, incapacity resulting from accidental difficulty of communications.