French Students Demand Transparency in University Admissions

French students rallied against the Ministry of Education on September 16 and called for the release of the classified Admission Post-Bac (APB) algorithm to the public. The APB objectively permits students admission to the universities of their choice. Realistically, it prioritizes certain students over others. In the past few years, the number of students attending university in France has surged, limiting space in an already inundated system. The APB attempts to solve this problem by logically dividing students based on certain criteria, such as academic standing or university preferences. However, the lack of transparency in the algorithm has created an atmosphere of distrust towards higher education in France, as recent protests show.

The government’s Commission of Access to Administrative Documents demanded that the Ministry of Education publicize the algorithm that decides the fate of 800,000 students each year. While preparatory schools and business schools use their own criteria for admission, all national universities must rely on the results from the baccalaureate, the national exam.

Nevertheless, unofficial selection processes run rampant. For instance, universities prioritize students who attend a preparatory school above recent high school graduates. The president of Rights for High School Students, Clément Baillon, claims that,“If the Minister [Najat Vallaud-Belkacem] does not provide the source code, we can use the warning from the Commission to force her to do so in front of an administrative tribunal.” Three small-scale tribunals already occurred in June and July, agreeing on the doubtful legality of denying admission to recent graduates, yet the Minister has made no move to release the code.

Currently, only two pages of the algorithm are publically available. The French newspaper Le Monde argues that this alone is insufficient to identify any discrepancies within the system. The Minister cited two unrelated reasons as to why the full code is unavailable: “Due to security reasons, to avoid cyber attacks” and “due to problems of comprehension, [as] the source code is comprised of 250 pages of incomprehensible lines of code.” Students have been enraged at this lack of transparency, referencing their right of free access to college.

This anger is not only directed at the APB but at the baccalaureate as well. Each year, students unite to sign petitions demanding grade changes. It remains unclear how the Ministry of Education will tackle the problematic process of applying to higher education.