By Dina Touiss
Marrakech – The following is a reader reaction to the original article “Morocco: The Crisis in the House of Education’’ by Abdellatif Zaki.
Critical Analysis
In this article, Abdellatif Zaki addresses the issue of the still-escalating teacher trainees’ crisis. On September 2015, Morocco’s ministry of Education passed two decrees. The first decree reduces the scholarship of teacher trainees by the half. The Second decree separates recruitment from training. The two decisions raised tensions between teacher trainees and the government. Teacher trainees protest in different cities expressing their disagreement over the two decrees. Several demonstrations witness the excessive use of force by police to disperse the protests. The Head of the Government insists that none of the two decisions will be canceled.
Teacher trainees believe that the decisions violate their rights. They argue that the two decrees passed officially after their registration in the program. They should not be subject to the decrees. They further believe that the government decisions promote private education system. The implementation of the two decisions will do more harm than good to public sector of education. The government shows a tendency to postpone the application of the decrees to the next year. Teacher trainees reject the offer.
Abdellarif Zaki sees that the conflict may easily destabilize Morocco. Demonstrations, violence, and disagreement lead Morocco to chaos. The decision makers should react wisely not to widen the gap between them and teacher trainees. Abdellatif Zaki condemns the weird response of the government to that issue. He believes that the crisis may cost the decision makers a lot.
My Perspective
As a university student and young Moroccan, I think that Moroccan government is fully responsible for what happens. Our government should manage to find a solution. Decision makers close all the channels of communication between them and teacher trainees. The Government itself goes beyond that using the force to silence the demonstrators. Obviously, the scenario is very complicated.
I believe that the two decrees lead to nothing except igniting fire between the government and teacher trainees. Under the light of what happens, it is clear that Moroccan government discourages freedom of expression. If teacher trainees are beaten and humiliated, how can Morocco be a model of modernity and democracy for the other countries? The protests and disagreements indirectly test the government’s claim of liberalization.
I believe that even if the government justifies somehow the two decrees launched, they will find no justification for the use of force against its citizens. The protests did not succeed to drop the two decrees passed. For many Moroccans, teacher trainees succeed to reveal the unwillingness of Moroccan decision makers to settle such an issue.
English in Media is a Master’s level course in Linguistics at Cadi Ayyad University. The course aims to increase students’ media literacy and awareness of media bias. It also trains students to simplify their English for better communication with non-native English speakers. Morocco World News is partnering with the students of this course to provide them with a real-life opportunity to use and show what they study.
Dina Touiss is a 1st year Master’s student in the Linguistics program at Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech. This reaction is part of a class on English in Media.
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