The government’s initiative aims to ensure more inclusive employment.
Rabat – The Moroccan government has reserved 200 positions in the public sector for people with special needs for 2020, according to Morocco’s Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani.
The Head of Government made the announcement on Sunday, December 16, at the National Higher School for Administration in Rabat.
The school, along with three other centers, held the standardized competitive examination for people with special needs, a national examination to recruit candidates for the 200 protected positions.
The standardized examination, held for the second time this year, is a means to ensure equal opportunities for people with special needs who want to work for the public sector, according to El Othmani.
The head of government also commended the “positive conditions” in which the examination took place, and promised that the government will continue to hold these examinations on a regular basis.
Applicants who pass the examination will be allocated to work in different sectors depending on their abilities and trainings.
Speaking at the announcement, the Minister of Solidarity, Social Development, Equality, and Family, Jamila El Moussali, said that the government has kept its promise to people with special needs by organizing this examination. This examination is only one way to include this category of people in public sector positions, she added.
More than 1,000 people applied to take the examination, from different regions of the Kingdom. Most applicants received training from NGOs to prepare them for the examination, noted El Moussali.
The minister also indicated that several regional centers accepted the applications, so that applicants do not have to travel to Rabat to submit their documents.
The examination comes after a series of coordination meetings between the Head of Government and the concerned ministries, which resulted in the allocation of the 200 positions.
While the initiative aims to ensure inclusive employment for people with special needs, it is not a cure-all solution.
Disability rights activists have been fighting for a better life for years now. Their demands include special ID cards, social grants, free transportation, employment opportunities, and special schooling facilities for children with intellectual disabilities.
“We want the government to activate their plans to promote handicapped people’s rights. They keep giving us fake promises to improve Morocco’s image on the international level, but in reality, disabled people in Morocco are still living in a very difficult situation,” activist Hafid El Hanouni told Morocco World News on Tuesday, October 8.
