Rabat – The National Association for the Defense of Human Rights (ANDDH) has condemned, through social networks, the decision of the Minister of Education, Said Amzazi, to use disciplinary measures against a teacher.
The minister’s decision comes after the teacher posted a widely shared video depicting the deplorable state of the public school she works at.
The president of ANDDH, Muhammed Rachid Chrii, described the ministry’s decision to Morocco World News as “arbitrary and authoritarian.”
The ANDDH also called on Said Amzazi’s department to “reconsider its decision” because the video’s content is “a striking example of the reality of most educational institutions in our country, especially in the rural world.”
The minister’s decision to suspend and deploy disciplinary measures against the teacher sparked nationwide controversy.
The teacher posted the video to urge officials to take action against Morocco’s crumbling public education in general. However, Amzazi considered her behavior “inappropriate” and argued that it only seeks to tarnish the image of the ministry and its efforts to improve school infrastructure.
The minister also emphasized that the school in the video had undergone a number of renovation works recently, explaining its derelict state.
Following the ministry’s decision, several Moroccan teachers expressed solidarity with their colleague.
Internet users launched a campaign under the slogan, “Sharing the truth is not a crime.” Others started posting and sharing new videos and photos depicting the same dire state in their schools.
Faced with the widespread support for the teacher, the minister “has recently withdrawn the decision,” the ANDDH president told MWN. Chrii added that “the ministry did not do her justice; it was the people who supported her.”
Chrii also told MWN that; “While international treaties guarantee activists the right to condemn and expose the terrible situations they face in their countries, the Moroccan State is still trying to silence them using administrative measures.”
