France’s proposed crackdown on its booming for-profit higher education sector could trigger a wave of “necessary” bankruptcies and mergers if lawmakers move ahead with plans to tighten access to public funding.
Under a proposed bill set to be debated in parliament on 1 June, only institutions that receive accreditation or partnership status after an external quality review would be allowed to appear on France’s centralised admissions platform, Parcoursup.
Only these institutions will be able to award state-recognised diplomas or degrees in certain cases and get access to students who receive scholarships.
The rapid rise of for-profit higher education institutions is closely linked to the country’s 2018 apprenticeship reforms, which increased public funding for work-study programmes. Under this system, students split their time between classes and working at companies. There are now about 400,000 to 500,000 students on these courses.
“Companies love it because it’s free labour paid by the taxpayer,” said Julien Jacqmin, an associate professor at NEOMA Business School who has carried out extensive research on the industry and repeatedly warned of its lack of transparency.
