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As he returns to politics, Frantz Gumbs, the representative for Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy, has no shortage of requests. This is largely due to the work he carried out in the National Assembly as co-rapporteur alongside Pierrick Courbon during a “flash mission” on the Parcoursup system. In an interview on France-Info on Tuesday, October 13, the lawmaker discussed the findings of his report. Frantz Gumbs believes, in particular, that Parcoursup “should not be eliminated, but we need to organize the process leading up to Parcoursup, on the one hand, and make the process following Parcoursup—upon entering higher education—transparent, on the other.” The lawmaker believes that “the Ministry of National Education must improve support for students and raise their awareness of Parcoursup starting in the 10th grade.”
According to him, this requires “a sufficient number of trained and informed staff,” and he adds: “The number of school psychologists—formerly known as guidance counselors—has been reduced. We need to hire more of them.”
Furthermore, Frantz Gumbs states that it is necessary to provide all students with “equal access to the computer equipment needed to follow all the steps and complete the Parcoursup application process.” He adds: “The platform does not rank or select students; it connects students with institutions of higher education. We must therefore also increase transparency regarding the selection of applicants.”
A few days earlier, on October 8, Frantz Gumbs posed two questions to the Minister of National Education, Edouard Geffray, during a hearing before the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Education. One concerned the follow-up to the recommendations of the “flash mission” on Parcoursup, and the other focused on schools in the overseas territories to determine what actions are being considered to strengthen basic learning skills. The minister replied that he would return on October 20 “with concrete proposals on what can be improved, particularly in terms of equal opportunity and algorithm transparency,” explains Frantz Gumbs. Edouard Geffray also clarified that for the overseas territories, “school dropout rates and exam success are the two priorities.” Frantz Gumbs commented: “I have, however, once again observed that the realities of Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy continue to be fully integrated into the Guadeloupe School District. I will continue my efforts to ensure that the socio-linguistic particularities of Saint Martin are given greater consideration.”
