While Morocco’s education sector is facing some of its darkest days, the Moroccan government says the sector has the highest priority.
Rabat – The sectors of education and training are “the first priorities” of the Moroccan government because they are essential levers for the country’s progress and development, said Morocco’s Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani.
El Othmani made the statement on Saturday, December 21, at the opening of a national conference on “the private sector and the framework law 51.17 relating to education, training, and scientific research,” in Agadir.
During his speech, El Othmani recalled the 32% increase in the education budget between 2016 and 2020.
The head of government also called upon all concerned actors, including the ministry, local authorities, civil society, and the private sector to make efforts to develop the education and training sectors.
The private sector is an essential partner of the state in the promotion of education, El Othmani stated. It is responsible for ensuring that the criteria of quality and equity are respected and implemented, he added.
According to the official, the Moroccan government is responsible for accompanying and supporting the private sector in accomplishing its mission under the best conditions.
El Othmani highlighted the importance of adopting the framework law 51.17 on education, training, and scientific research.
The framework law 51.17 aims to fix some of the inconsistencies that the Moroccan education system suffers from. However, article 31 of the law, calling for the use of foreign languages in teaching scientific and technical subjects in middle and high schools, has sparked a lot of controversy.
Despite the Moroccan government “prioritizing” the education sector, the sector has been facing major challenges in the last decades.
Most recently, after the Ministry of Education decided to start hiring teachers under annually renewable contracts in 2016, Moroccan teachers went on regular strikes and threatened to not go back to their classrooms.
The teachers’ demands include improving infrastructures, ending the “discrimination” between contractual teachers and public sector teachers, and facilitating promotions.
