By Karima SlamtiIfrane - What a burden it is to find someone who can adequately care for your child. School starts at a very early age, and teachers are loading our children with too much unnecessary information and overloading them with too many school supplies. The reason behind such an excess in both information and school supplies is to show caring parents that these kids really benefit from going to school. But why should a two- or three-year-old pupil, who is still a baby, get up early every morning and spend so much time at school rather than staying and playing at home?
Ifrane – What a burden it is to find someone who can adequately care for your child. School starts at a very early age, and teachers are loading our children with too much unnecessary information and overloading them with too many school supplies. The reason behind such an excess in both information and school supplies is to show caring parents that these kids really benefit from going to school. But why should a two- or three-year-old pupil, who is still a baby, get up early every morning and spend so much time at school rather than staying and playing at home?
There are some parents who consider school a childcare center instead of an educating place. This is mainly the case for working mothers and some housewives. To the contrary, there are other parents who think of school as a necessity before moving to primary school. Thus, it becomes a stressful adventure for both parents and children. Instead of relishing the transition from babyhood to childhood, families overlook such an intimate transition with their children because of childcare. In fact, feeling moments of affection and discovering mutual likes and dislikes is the best education a family can offer to their loved ones.
Today, names of schools are competitive targets that stress the majority of parents. The prestige of the school is equivalent to the price. That is to say, parents judge the quality of learning according to the high fees of enrollment along with the selection process of VIP parents and children.
Weekends and holidays are becoming more stressful for parents, who are suffering from the heavy load of assignments their children are given. They are supposed to supervise and help their children in their exercises and, as a consequence, family gatherings are canceled. So, how can a child really be motivated if he/she does not entertain him/herself and does not feel like going to school? This is why we find a number of pupils in the primary level pretending to be sick in order not to attend school.
Therefore, parents start to worry about their children, talk with their teachers and sometimes even see psychologists to find ways to make students regain the willingness to go to such an ‘undesirable place’. Is there any parent who takes the risk of taking a year off just for the sake of making his son/daughter happy, free, and relaxed? It would be seen bizarre. In fact, when parents experience a desperate case — that is to say, a child who is exhausted because of their studies, not interested and unmotivated, then that should be seen as an alarming situation. The parents will strive to find a suitable solution and then take action to bring life and joy back to their children.
In brief, education becomes a question of money; the more you are willing to pay, the better your education will be. The present orientation of the Moroccan education is all about making money and increasing business. The government gives permission to open private institutions and, at the same time, to close public ones. They have started with most of the urban primary schools, while building more schools in rural areas.
Are the outcomes of private schools better than the public ones? It is debatable. Thirty years ago there were only public institutions. Private schools were rare and seen as incompetent ones. Graduates coming from rich and poor families were on even ground. Also, students used to start their studies in Quranic schools in their neighborhoods. They then would not join public primary school until the age of seven. Afterwards, they would go to public middle and secondary schools to finally become important Moroccan citizens. They would employ their citizenship status by holding important positions and jobs such as politicians, journalists, doctors, teachers, engineers, architects, etc.
However, the present situation has switched to giving importance to students in private schools and underestimating those in public ones. Public education is needed in Moroccan society for middle and high schools, and free education should be accessible for all Moroccans. Nowadays, in order not to be viewed as poor, some parents go beyond their financial capacities and enroll their children in a private school. It makes no sense!
Furthermore, higher education is also becoming more private. For example, a private university for medicine was just created in Casablanca with many benefits similar to the public faculties. Students in public schools have to spend an obligatory period of two years in the countryside after their graduation, which is not the case for graduates from private institutions. A job contract of many years of work in public hospitals is one of the reasons students go to study in private universities. In addition, the fact that medical public jobs salaries are very low push students to study in private institutions. Therefore, they are able to launch their own businesses in which the profit is relatively high.
Our students are our children. We must, as parents, teachers and government officials care for their needs and not to let the financial side be the most important priority of schooling. Equal opportunities are required for both public and private Moroccan education. No one is perfect, and it is not money that provides respect and recognition of society; it is your personality, opinions, and voice.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission
