Eight problems with national universities

The French university system has made headlines in France this term after a massive influx of students saw the government scramble to invest €100 million (US$114 million) to try to prop up the creaking higher education system. But does the problem run deeper? asks Oliver Gee for The Local.

The Local spoke with students, professors and education experts to find out what exactly is going wrong with France's once famous university system. Among these were: student influx; lack of funding; tarnished reputation; elitism; lack of coherence and supervision; too easy to get in and drop out; low expectations; and lack of global outlook.

An extra 65,000 students began courses this term in French universities, with a student blog showing pictures of their overflowing lecture halls quickly going viral last month, and France has been lagging behind in education expenditure for years, according to Ellie Bothwell, a reporter at THE World University Rankings. There’s also the problem of elitism, with "incestuous recruiting" of graduates among the political and corporate elites.
Full report on The Local site