Fez - It has been two months now since teacher trainees in Morocco started their boycott of training classes in the diverse regional training centers across Morocco in protest against the ministerial decrees N: 588-15-2 and N: 589-15-2 which separate training from recruitment, and reduce the training scholarship by half. The sit-ins in Rabat just a few meters from the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training and the high-pitched voices of trainees were received with closed windows, locked doors and allegedly a lot of violence against Morocco’s future educators.
Fez – It has been two months now since teacher trainees in Morocco started their boycott of training classes in the diverse regional training centers across Morocco in protest against the ministerial decrees N: 588-15-2 and N: 589-15-2 which separate training from recruitment, and reduce the training scholarship by half. The sit-ins in Rabat just a few meters from the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training and the high-pitched voices of trainees were received with closed windows, locked doors and allegedly a lot of violence against Morocco’s future educators.
Seemingly, there is no compromise in the horizon and the situation heralds a complete paralysis in training centers for the whole year and, thus, no new teacher appointments in the next school year despite the epic teacher shortage in Moroccan schools.
We must face it and truth be told: the situation tells volumes about the failure of national education and the current government as a whole in running this very sensitive and very important sector. I can’t believe education is the second national cause after the issue of the Moroccan Sahara with the many personal, hazardous, unstudied, whimsical and overnight decisions ministers of education take in Morocco!
On December 17, 2015, Rabat was home for the biggest peaceful march in the history of the city. Thousands of teacher trainees gathered in Rabat along with their families in what they called “the white flood” referring to the countless number of teachers wearing their white uniforms.
What seems to add insult to injury is the deafness, and stubbornness the government faces teachers’ demands with. Right after the march, Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane told Andalus Press that “the government will not withdraw the two decrees enacted by Rachid Belmokhtar, the minister of National Education.” Addressing the trainees, Benkirane said: “my advice to them is to go back to continue their training, and if they persist they will lose recruitment.”
The menacing tone is unmistakable in Benkirane’s words. Teacher trainees are indeed on the horns of a dilemma, they have to choose between the devil and the deep sea: either they willy-nilly accept the decrees or they will be given the axe. With this snowball rolling down between teachers and the government and getting larger and larger, the only loser is Morocco and Moroccan education.
As teachers-practitioners, we have been calling for real reform that would put education in Morocco back on its right track but to no avail. It seems we have to wait for eternity to get our voices heard and our hopes of a strong education system and decent teaching conditions fulfilled. It’s so frustrating.
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy
