Sidi Ifini- As Morocco’s education system is going through a veritable slowdown as UNESCO reports demonstrate, Morocco’s Ministry of Higher Education continues to resort to their European and American allies to enter agreements, encourage overseas exchange trips, and motivate researchers and professors alike to learn about the world’s most successful educational systems.
Whereas some professors in Morocco have expressed dissatisfaction with the absence of opportunities and programs to exchange their experiences and to learn from those of others abroad, other researchers called on the government to intervene and ease the process of applying for visas, setting conditions, and gaining admission to foreign institutions.
Even though the idea is much welcomed by several European countries, including France and Spain, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, professors insist, must work harder to provide the best for ambitious university researchers.
In this regard, during a conference in Rabat, Lahcen Daoudi, Morocco’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, announced on Friday that “the Maghreb countries, Group (5+5) members, finally reached a consensus by which the granting of visas for university professors and researchers to France and Spain will be facilitated.”
Founded in Rome, Italy in 1990, the Group, along with the European Union, aims to strengthen and promote the economy, development, and security of the region.
The Group encompasses the Maghreb countries plus five European countries: Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, and Malta.
“This relieves us. We can breathe a deep breath of relief now that Lahcen Daoudi took the initiative to voice our concerns on our behalf,” some professors wrote on university forums.
Daoudi also drew the attendees’ attention to the red tape that Moroccan university professors face in trying to procure a visa to enter Europe.
Among the difficulties highlighted were: the bureaucratic hurdles in the way of procuring the necessary papers, the demanding selection conditions, and insufficient beneficiaries from visas.
“This is why there is going to be an agreement signed by France and Spain for these professors and researchers to easily be granted a visa,” Daoudi noted.
“Getting a visa used to be a stumbling block, and now we have overcome it,” Daoudi added.
According to its regular reports, Morocco’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research promised to take action and work towards encouraging research, creativity, invention and innovation, not only at the national level, but also at the international level.
Edited by Nadia Elboubakri
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