France announced a one-billion-euro plan for universities on Monday, promising to offer more places on popular courses, cut drop-out rates and build more accommodation, in a bid to assuage the concerns of politically powerful students, reports Business Insider.
President Emmanuel Macron's government has already faced down street protests over labour reform and risks more industrial action over plans to reform the pension and unemployment insurance systems.
It wants to avoid confrontation with students who have forced past governments into policy u-turns with protracted rallies. The government said the 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) will be spent over the five years of Macron's term in office.
Students in France who pass high school exams have the right to go to university in their home area. But this has led to popular subjects such as law and psychology being heavily oversubscribed and prompted the introduction of an unpopular lottery system where demand is highest.
That lottery system will now be scrapped and the most pressed universities will be allowed to select students on merit. The proposal stops short of a blanket UK-style selection system that student unions had opposed.
France's biggest student union, the moderate Fage, welcomed the plan. Two other unions, including the left-wing Unef, the second largest, were critical.
Read more of this Reuters report published by Business Insider.