Open letter: “Parliament has better things to do to promote sustainable development than passing laws to impose an official curriculum on universities”
The presidents of eight top French universities signed an open letter in response to a bill that would require all schools to teach about issues related to preserving the environment and biological diversity and to climate change on the planet.
OPEN LETTER
“In recent months, we have witnessed a rising tide of protests, strikes, and manifestos calling for urgent action to protect the environment. Around the globe, the young generation of high school and college students is joining forces to demand that governments make sustainable development and the environment a priority, if not the priority, in their policies.
Three French parliament members have chosen to respond with legislation. But on what? University curricula, based on the conclusions of a think tank focused on the need to include energy- and climate-related issues in any basic university education. No matter that the available figures on the number of schools already teaching these topics are greatly underestimated, it’s time to strike hard. And thus is born the bill “requiring all schools to teach about issues related to preserving the environment and biological diversity and to climate change on the planet,” signed by no fewer than 70 members of parliament.
What vision of university are they trying to convey? Their approach suggests that universities have not long since taken up these topics, that research —in France, at least— has not addressed every aspect of the climate, biodiversity, and the energy transition, that their courses have not covered these complex issues. This reveals a complete lack of understanding of academia.
One might also ask what vision of parliament the bill’s sponsors hope to convey. Is its role to use laws to establish the content of official curricula for universities? In what democratic country is the university curriculum dictated by law? While universities certainly have a public service vocation, the law ensures their autonomy and the academic freedom to determine the best way to serve that vocation, which includes defining the content of their curriculum.
Environmental challenges are complex and cover a very broad range of disciplines: natural, material, and life sciences, medical sciences, economic and social sciences, and the humanities. Universities are fully mindful of their role and responsibilities. Their aim is not to raise awareness among students, who are already aware of the issues, but rather to make them into actors capable of grasping every aspect of sustainable development-related issues —environmental impact, governance, economic viability, social acceptability— capable of formulating solutions on multiple scales, and capable of facilitating their political implementation.
Rather than easing their conscience by putting the burden onto higher education and research, these members of parliament would be well served to pass laws on concrete issues related to the ecological transition. No doubt the expertise of our researchers and young graduates will be of great help to them in this effort.”
Signing presidents:
Jean CHAMBAZ, President of Sorbonne Université, President of the LERU (League of European Research Universities) ; Christine CLERICI, President of Université de Paris, President of the CURIF (Coordination des Universités de Recherche Intensive Françaises) ; Michel DENEKEN, Chancellor of the Université de Strasbourg ; Alain FUCHS, President of Université PSL (Paris Sciences & Lettres) ; Jean-Marc GAMBAUDO, President of Université Côte d’Azur ; Patrick LEVY, President of Université Grenoble Alpes ; Sylvie RETAILLEAU, President of Université Paris-Saclay ; Manuel TUNON DE LARA, President of the Université de Bordeaux