ABSTRACT
The reforms attempt to construct a system that will both do justice to a heritage of enlightenment and democracy and will answer the needs of a modern nation. One main piece of legislation enacted in 1959 was the Loi Debre law amending the relationship between the State and private schools. Various forms of legislation and of administrative action were the first of the steps taken in a series. Political acts set the process in motion, and the political framework then proved to be one within which Ministers and civil servants could partly redesign the structure of secondary education. A partial solution to the problem of integrating technical education with general schooling was sought in the new comprehensive colleges of secondary education, where different forms of teaching are given in the same institution. Achievement in the French education system is signalled by the successful passing of an examination and the receipt of the appropriate certificate.
