300 students and associations have asked the Conseil d'État's urgent applications judge to suspend the BTS exams and instead validate them on the basis of marks obtained in continuous assessment. The urgent applications judge noted that specific measures had been put in place to comply with health regulations and that candidates would be able to benefit this year from a resit session in July and from a personalised support system. For these reasons, the judge considered that the conduct of the BTS exams did not unlawfully infringe the right to health or the principle of equality.
The judge noted that a stricter health protocol had been put in place in the schools and that specific instructions had been sent by the Ministry of Higher Education to ensure that the exams were conducted in compliance with health regulations. With 180,000 students taking the exam this year, the examinations are spread over several weeks, in about 2,000 examination centres, and will be supervised by dedicated staff.
The urgent applications judge also noted that the current situation is not identical to that of 2020, which justifies that the tests are not adapted as they were last year. The judge noted that some of the baccalaureate tests would be maintained in 2021.
This year, BTS candidates will also benefit from a resit session in July and a personalised support system if they are unable to take the tests. Although the course of study and preparation for the exam were difficult overall and varied from one student to another, this was not enough to render the continuation of the exams illegal.
For these various reasons, the urgent applications judge found that the exams being maintained did not unlawfully infringe the students' right to life or health, nor the principles of equality and equal access to education, as the applicants had argued.
Read the decision n°451849-451991 (in French)