Start of the school year in Morocco: proposals to improve the educational environment

With the new school year about to begin in Morocco, the state of the education system has sparked considerable debate, driven by the need to address the challenges that marked the previous year. In this context, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), an opposition party, has requested a special meeting with the Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, Chakib Benmoussa. The USFP, which heads the Education, Culture and Communication Committee in the House of Representatives, has stressed the urgency of a thorough assessment of the problems accumulated in the past school year, in order to find appropriate solutions to avoid a difficult academic year.

The party has underlined the importance of the return to the classroom, noting its crucial impact on the educational process, motivation and performance of students. Abdul Rahim Shahid, head of the USFP's parliamentary group, said that ‘the accumulated challenges require careful assessment to identify their causes and propose solutions that address the root problems’. As reported by Al Arab, Shahid emphasised the need for advance preparation to ensure an educational environment that is responsive to the needs of both students and teachers, avoiding improvised decisions and aligning the education system with global trends and contemporary challenges.

The USFP has also called for a review of school infrastructure and ensuring the necessary resources to maintain high quality education, particularly in rural areas. It has also pointed to the importance of improving conditions for welcoming students, managing educational institutions effectively, providing a school environment that stimulates learning, and strengthening extracurricular and sports activities.

Last year, the Moroccan education sector was affected by strikes in public education that resulted in the loss of more than 8 million teaching hours in more than 12,000 institutions. At a roundtable organised by the Moroccan Organisation for Human Rights, lawyer and activist Mariam Jamal Al-Idrisi highlighted that these strikes, along with the suspension of classes in public schools and a perceived slow government response, negatively affected students, including the risk of dropouts and psychological problems.

In parallel to the USFP's demands, the National Coordination of Educational Administrators of Morocco has announced a series of strikes and a boycott of their duties from Tuesday 3 September to demand improvements in their working conditions. Their demands include the recognition of their functions as an essential part of the educational administration, the granting of credit years for promotion to higher grades, and the modification of the criteria for access to administrative posts.

On the other hand, the participation of teachers in the national population and housing census, which will take place in September, has raised concerns that their absence from the classroom during this period could disrupt the educational process and affect students' academic performance. Despite assurances from the High Commissioner for Planning that only 32 per cent of those participating in the census will be teachers, some concerns remain, especially among Moroccan families.  

Minister Chakib Benmoussa has also been criticised, particularly for his decision to exclude teachers from leading schools from the census, while allowing other officials from public institutions to participate. However, these criticisms have been handled with discretion, and it is hoped that steps will be taken to address any concerns in an equitable manner.

Overall, while the challenges facing the education system in Morocco are significant, there is also a growing commitment among the various actors to find solutions to improve the situation. The upcoming school year, while fraught with challenges, also offers an opportunity for the country to strengthen its commitment to quality education and move towards a more inclusive and efficient system, to the benefit of all Moroccan students.