[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Sunghye] France has decided to cancel this year's university entrance qualification exam, the Baccalaureate, due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and replace it with an alternative method.
On the 3rd (local time), Jean-Michel Blanquer, France's Minister of Education, announced that this year's Baccalaureate exam will be replaced by assignments and in-school academic achievement evaluations.
Minister Blanquer explained that considering the nationwide closure of schools at all levels due to COVID-19, it is not possible for examinees to pass the Baccalaureate under the same conditions as in previous years.
The cancellation of the Baccalaureate is a very unusual event. The Baccalaureate is France's university entrance qualification exam, usually held over a week in June every year. This exam began in 1808 during the First Empire under Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte after the French Revolution, and has a history of well over 200 years.
It is famous for its subjective essay questions that require deep thinking and writing skills, and uses an absolute evaluation system where passing requires scoring more than half of the full marks. In France, any high school graduate who passes the Baccalaureate can enter a national university and choose their desired major without tuition fees.
The French government has also decided to cancel the Brevet, the middle school graduation exam, due to the COVID-19 situation and replace it with another form of evaluation. The Brevet, usually held in June, is an academic assessment taken by middle school students around the age of 14, marking the completion of the three-year middle school curriculum and serving as a kind of graduation exam.
As the COVID-19 situation worsened, France issued a nationwide school closure order early last month, followed by a ban on the operation of all stores and restaurants except pharmacies, grocery stores, and gas stations, and also imposed a nationwide movement restriction order.
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