Supervision and management in French schools abroad

The structure

The Agency for French Education Abroad or AEFE (Agence pour l’enseignement français à l’étranger) manages a network of 261 schools in 130 countries catering for 157,000 pupils, a third of whom are French.

This concerns:

schools which are managed directly by AEFE (73 schools);
private schools established under local law which have entered into agreements with AEFE (210 schools) and are managed by an association or foundation (parents' associations or Mission laïque française).

Employment

The agency notably employs for Education Ministry inspectors and management staff.

In accordance with regulations published on 4 January 2002, employees are recruited outside of the country of employment, on the basis of general suitability. They are then seconded to AEFE, which pays them for a period of three years and, where applicable, for an additional two-year period. Applicants must have at least three years' actual experience with their current employers.

The conditions governing applications for inspection, management and administrative positions are published in the official Education Ministry gazette (Bulletin officiel de l'Éducation nationale) at the start of the school year (September - October), as is the list of posts to be filled.