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Join on Telegram Rabat – Head of government Saad Eddine El Othmani and Minister of Education Said Amzazi met on Friday with several associations representing students parents to update them on the government’s measures on the suspension of classes due to the ongoing contractual teachers’ protests.
During the meeting, the associations of students parents called on the contractual teachers to resume work. Parents pleaded with the contractual teachers to put students’ interest ahead.
El Othmani stressed that he personally follows the issue. He evoked the measures and solutions the government has taken to ensure the normal functioning of schools. Like parents, he noted that, students’ rights should be a top priority of school-related actions.
While the protesting teachers have voiced the government’s passivity in meeting their demands for better working conditions, El Othmani explained that the government objectively handled the issue.
He said the government has made the necessary amendments to the government’s program for contractual teachers. The new program is similar to the one used for the permanent teachers employed in the public sector, giving contractual teachers roughly the same rights as their permanently hired peers, according to El Othmani.
Read also: Ministry of Education Proposes a Reform for Contractual Teachers
The head of government expressed dissatisfaction with the teachers’ strike, underlining that no one has the right to stop the functioning of any public service. Weeks-long suspension of classes is unacceptable and unreasonable because it impedes students’ rights, El Othmani argued.
The minister of education highlighted the contract program reforms giving contractual teachers the same labor protection as permanent teachers. The pack includes health care, a pension fund, early retirement in case of a permanent sickness, and the right to promotions to posts with greater responsibilities.
Amzazi reassured parents that his ministry has taken the necessary and “practical” measures in cooperation with a number of partners to ensure that the protests do not clash with students’ rights for the rest of the school year.
The associations’ representatives appreciated the government initiative to hold a dialogue with them, saluted the authorities’ efforts to address the crisis.
