French education minister says she is staying in post despite criticism
France's new education minister on Wednesday said she was determined to remain in the post despite a controversy over her children going to a private school that was accused of homophobic and sexist behaviour in a report last year.
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Amelie Oudea-Castera, a former junior tennis champion, was handed the education brief in a cabinet reshuffle last week, on top of her sports portfolio, just months ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris.
All three of her sons go to the elite Stanislas school, a Catholic institution in the 6th arrondissement of Paris which in a report handed to the ministry last August was accused of making religious classes compulsory, contrary to French law.
In these classes, several speakers - usually parents - were accused of making homophobic comments or criticising abortion, the report noted.
Oudea-Castera came under fire after she told reporters last week that she had chosen to put her son in the private school 15 years ago because of "loads of teaching hours without a serious replacement" teacher at his public school.
But this was vehemently denied by the boy's then teacher.
The minister was greeted with boos and tin can banging when she visited the school on Tuesday to apologise to teachers.
Oudea-Castera told France TV on Wednesday morning that she had though of resigning over the controversy, but decided against it.
"As long as I am here, I am at work in the interest of schools side-by-side with teachers... to ensure they succeed," she said.
She explained she had not read the entire report on her children's school, instead reading a "short summary" to understand the accusations against her, but said her predecessor - now Prime Minister Gabriel Attal - had launched an action plan to address the issues raised in it.
(with AFP)
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