However, public debate has shown that the French are profoundly attached both to the principle of secular schools and to freedom for different types of schools to be offered. As a result increasing numbers of young people are arriving at university and are putting an ever greater financial burden on the universities. Yet higher education still does not provide enough graduates, and too many students leave university without a degree. Sometimes the Minister for Education is assisted by a another minister or junior minister responsible for a specific sector such as higher education or vocational training. T he basic principles that define the French education system today originate from the time of Jules Ferry, the then Minister for Public Education, in 1883.
Public education is free , except for nominal registration fees at the university.
F or many years the education system was highly centralised, hierarchical and uniform in its organisation and operation. The situation began to change in the 1960s, when two trends emerged. On one hand, programs and teaching methods were brought up to date and decisions related to the internal organisation of schools began to be discussed by boards within the institutions, increasing participation of students, families and local authorities. At the same time, the State had to take steps to cope with an important jump in the number of students at all levels, an increase due to changing demography, longer studies, rising expectations and a deliberate government policy of educating a population with the training necessary for the country's economic development. School attendance is not required at this age but there is a strong demand for it.