Rabat – Morocco’s Government Council approved the creation of five new higher education institutions across the country during a videoconference meeting on Thursday, May 14.
The institutions include three Higher Schools of Technology (EST) in Nador, Ouarzazate, and Dakhla, a Faculty of Economics and Management in Guelmim, and an Institute of Sports Professions in Kenitra.
The Ouarzazate and Dakhla ESTs, along with the new faculty in Guelmim, will be created under the Ibn Zohr University of Agadir. The EST of Nador will be under the Mohammed I University of Oujda and Kenitra’s new institute will be under the local Ibn Tofail University.
The Ministry of Higher Education launched the project as part of the strategy to bring university establishments closer to students and to widen and diversify the offer of university training, adapting it to the evolving needs of the job market, Minister of Education Said Amzazi said.
The new institutions also aim to increase the reception capacity of Moroccan universities, in line with the country’s current demographic distribution, Amzazi added.
To officialize the project, the Government Council adopted draft decree 2-20-210, amending and completing decree 2-90-554 adopted on January 18, 1991. The decree lists Moroccan universities and the institutions and campuses under their jurisdiction.
During the meeting, the council also adopted draft decree 2-19-722, supplementing decree 2-04-89 of June 7, 2004. The decrees fix the missions of the different higher education institutions, their access requirements, and their curricula and diplomas.
The updated legal text comes specifically to prepare Morocco to adopt a Bachelor system in September 2020.
On January 7, Amzazi announced that Morocco will switch from the Licence, Master, Doctorat (LMD) system, mostly used in Francophone countries, to the Bachelor system used in the English-speaking world.
The new system will allow Morocco to better integrate with international education systems and facilitate the mobility of Moroccan students to international universities.
Moroccan universities will adopt a transition period before completely implementing the new system. Students in their first academic year in 2020-2021 will be the only ones affected by the change, while those who are in their second year or higher will continue their studies according to the current LMD system.
