doLike every academic year, the National Union of Students of France (Unef), a student union, presented the figures for the cost of living for students: whether the increase is less pronounced this year (+ 2.25%) than in 2023 (+ 6.47%), remains 27.76% since 2017, without the revaluation of study scholarships compensating for it. The consequence will surely be a worsening of student precariousness, already high in France.
To reduce it, it is necessary to reform the student aid system as it exists in France. This is part of the “familiarized” logic of access to social citizenship for young people, since they are initially seen as children, which implies a series of institutional consequences, and in particular high age limits for access to social benefits. (such as that for access to the RSA in France set at 25 years), the mobilization of family policy to finance the continuation of higher education (for example, with tax aid for parents) and scholarships for students who depend on parents’ income.
The logic of these scholarships is not to guarantee the completion of studies with total financial independence, but rather to compensate for the insufficient financial assistance from parents granted to students from working-class backgrounds. Therefore, it reflects both a “family-oriented” logic (it is primarily up to parents to help their children continue their studies) and a redistributive logic (more should be given to those who have less).
The “Robin Hood” strategy
On the other hand, we find European countries, such as the Nordic ones, that have reformed these “family-based” scholarship systems to establish aid that no longer depends on parents’ resources. They are more generally found in countries where access to social citizenship is “individualized” for young people, including students, recognizing their status as adults: they can access social benefits from the age of 18 and almost everyone can receive a scholarship. often combined with a loan, compared to only about a third of university students in France. These systems do not consider that it is up to parents to care for their children first or that it is necessary to adopt a “Robin Hood” strategy of giving primarily to those who have the least. In short, they are the complete opposite of what we find in France.
So, what is the best strategy to combat student insecurity? At first glance it would seem that the French “Robin Hood” redistributive strategy is the most obvious to reduce it by giving more to those who have less: why give the same to young people from wealthy families? However, a recent study highlights that it is in countries where the adult status of young people is recognized, thus turning their back on the “familiarization” of policies aimed at young people, where we find levels of material deprivation and poverty. “ subjective” among the lowest students in Europe. In other words, “familiarization” would not be the best strategy to improve the living conditions of young people. But how can we explain this counterintuitive result for students?
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