Until now, any user of Google Maps could note a school as he would for a restaurant or a hotel. A practice that has given rise to sometimes virulent comments: ” pitiful college », « horrible teachers “, Or” rotten establishment ». These assessments, very often anonymous, were publicly displayed on the Google sheet of primary schools, colleges or high schools, in the same way as those of shops. Problem: these opinions were rarely constructive and escaped any right of response.
Dependent opinion or stands?
Google confirmed this week to AFP that he was going to put an end to this possibility. “” This decision is due to the recurring presence of non -subject contributions, harmful and contrary to our policies “Said a spokesperson. The withdrawal of notes and comments will concern all general education institutions worldwide. The process will take several weeks and also include the deletion of opinions already published.
On the side of the Ministry of National Education, this decision is perceived as a relief. The ministry welcomed the announcement, explaining that this request came from its services. “” It is a question of protecting the institution and the staff of national education. Many of these opinions could serve as a forum for various claims of interest, without the possibility of contradictory or response “Said a spokesperson.
Teacher unions share this opinion. For Sophie Venetitay, secretary general of SNES-FSU, the opinion system had transformed into ” praise For some students or parents. Jean-Rémi Girard, president of the SNALC, believes that ” It is absolutely not healthy as a mode of operation ». Same satisfaction for the SE-UNSA: its secretary general, Élisabeth Allain-Moreno, insists that ” The protection of staff also involves the protection of the public school ».
This announcement comes when school ratings and rankings are increasingly consulted by parents. To offer a more supervised alternative, the Ministry of Education has set up specific indicators – IVAL for high schools and IVACs for colleges – supposed to give a finer vision of the performance of establishments. Unlike the opinions left on the Internet, these data take into account the progress of students and not just their success rate for exams.
By putting an end to these wild ratings, Google cuts short to a practice which, under the guise of information, was above all risked infringing the reputation of schools and the work of teachers.
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