SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - “Education is both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights.”
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights set out that principle in its interpretation of the right to education. The protests sweeping France show how deeply access to schooling — alongside housing, jobs and basic public services — shapes expectations of government.
The unrest poses a dilemma for developed economies: how to repair public finances without widening inequalities that weaken growth, public health and trust in democratic institutions.
Two European scholars interviewed by AJP argue that the answer depends on whether public policy gives children from different backgrounds an equal chance to succeed.
Their observations carry lessons for South Korea, where fierce academic competition, costly private tutoring and unequal access to desirable jobs continue to limit social mobility.
France’s latest protest movement began in September, when students, particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods, demonstrated against overcrowded classrooms, deteriorating facilities and teacher shortages. Their grievances merged with wider concerns over purchasing power, pensions and public services.
More than half a million people demonstrated across France on Nov. 5, according to government estimates. The CGT trade union put turnout at about 1.6 million.
President Emmanuel Macron condemned attacks on teachers and public officials on Nov. 10 as student groups vowed to continue protesting despite government concessions.
Yet France has limited fiscal room. Its budget deficit stood at 5.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2025 and public debt reached about 115.7 percent of GDP, according to national statistics agency INSEE.
Rising borrowing costs and persistent deficits constrain spending, leaving the government to balance debt reduction against demands for stronger public services.
Inequality starts before the diploma
Marie Duru-Bellat, an emeritus professor of sociology at Sciences Po Paris, sees a deeper problem behind France’s educational tensions.
"Social inequality in achievement occurs from the very beginning of elementary school," she told AJP.
Parents’ education and ability to help with schoolwork strongly influence children’s achievement. Those early differences persist as students progress through school.
Expanding access to higher education does not automatically close the gap, Duru-Bellat warned. Competition can simply move to ever-higher qualifications, producing "a global inflation of diplomas which tend to weaken their value on the labor market," she said.
South Korea faces a similar challenge. Households spent about 27.5 trillion won on private education for elementary, middle and high school students in 2025, down from 29.2 trillion won in 2024, according to government statistics.
Average monthly spending per student fell to 458,000 won, but the burden remains substantial. Wealthy families spend more than three times as much as lower-income households.
An OECD report published this month said Korea’s intense educational competition strains household finances and children’s well-being and can reinforce inequality.
Education costs also influence marriage and childbearing decisions in a country already facing demographic decline.
"France's debates illustrate how difficult it is to significantly reduce inequalities in schooling as long as children grow up in unequal conditions," Duru-Bellat said.
She proposed two approaches: giving children comparable learning opportunities from the earliest years, including through better teacher training, and loosening the link between academic credentials and employment.
"Another way would be to alleviate the impact of the diploma on the job you are able to find," she said.
That argument resonates in Korea, where competition for prestigious university places is closely tied to the pursuit of desirable jobs.
The hidden costs of austerity
Kate Pickett, a professor at the University of York who studies economic inequality, warned that cutting essential services can create larger bills later.
"Investing in public services and social protection is not simply a cost, it is a high-return social investment that protects national health and economic resilience over generations," she told AJP.
"Austerity treats short-term balance-sheet cuts as a saving, while ignoring the massive, downstream liabilities created by widening social and economic inequality," she said.
Pickett co-authored The Spirit Level and The Inner Level with Richard Wilkinson. Her latest book, The Good Society: And How We Make It, published in February, examines policies for healthier, more equitable societies.
She argues that spending decisions must account for consequences beyond the annual budget.
"Public health research over decades demonstrates that population wellbeing is driven primarily by the social determinants of health, such as living conditions, secure income, quality housing, early childhood support, and community stability," she said.
Cuts to social care, family assistance and community infrastructure can damage physical and mental health, weaken educational outcomes and reduce social mobility and productivity, she explained.
The challenge for indebted governments is to protect those long-term benefits while keeping public services financially sustainable.
Measuring who shares in prosperity
For Korea, Pickett suggested a more revealing test of progress than economic growth alone.
"GDP alone is a deeply flawed indicator of human flourishing; it tells us nothing about how opportunities or well-being are distributed across a population," she said.
"If South Korea wants a practical, gold-standard test of whether its national prosperity is translating into equal chance at a good life, it could look at the healthy development and well-being of its children," she said.
She proposed tracking and narrowing socioeconomic gaps in children’s well-being and early educational achievement. Drawing on Nobel laureate James Heckman’s research, she emphasized early childhood as a decisive period when intervention can prevent inequalities from taking root.
Her recommendations come as President Lee Jae Myung’s government pursues an expansionary fiscal policy. Korea’s proposed 2027 budget totals about 821 trillion won, up 12.8 percent from this year, with spending aimed at growth, technological competitiveness and social challenges.
Korea’s approach differs from France’s immediate need to contain deficits. Both countries, however, must decide which spending will turn national wealth into broader opportunity.
Pickett rejected the idea that welfare necessarily undermines competitiveness.
"If welfare spending and economic vitality were opposites, high-tax, comprehensive welfare states like Denmark, Finland, and Norway would be economic failures," she said.
"Instead, these countries consistently lead global rankings in economic productivity, innovation, social mobility, and population well-being," she added.
South Korea and France have different welfare systems, political traditions and fiscal pressures. But they confront the same question – how children born into different circumstances can share the opportunities prosperity creates.
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