French students against private sector influence on universities

Juliette Griffond, in charge of communication at UNEF, the French national student union, told EurActiv why students are afraid of the alleged privatisation. 

"We are not against business funding, but against the business sector having decision-making powers regarding university curricula and diplomas. Just imagine if there is a diploma that corresponds to one single enterprise and job and then that enterprise shuts down. The employee and his diploma would have no value after that."

Asked whether the current diplomas correspond to the needs of business and whether students can easily find a job after graduation, she underlined that "the current unemployment rates in France do not depend on the quality of university education and the diplomas students have", adding that "university autonomy will not improve education, as the quality of education is more a question of budget and reform of the university pedagogy." 

"Current university education gives young graduates a certain 'package' of qualifications and capacities, after which each enterprise needs to train the young graduates internally to correspond to the enterprise's specific needs. It is important that university education is not too professionalised and doesn't simply allow one profession afterwards. Nowadays, people change job frequently and need to be able to adapt to change," added Griffond.

When the French bill was introduced, the European University Association (EUA) said it welcomed the move to give French universities more autonomy as "a critical aspect of higher education reform." "If we don't decide who to employ and what to spend our money on, universities are never going to be able to change," said EUA secretary general Lesley Wilson.