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Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Education has made a series of changes to primary school curricula, including the allocation of more time for science and civic education classes.
Minister of Education Saaid Amzazi announced the changes in a press release on August 7.
The new changes, set to go into effect at the start of the 2020-2021 school year, include amendments to both the content and the form of the curricula.
One of the main changes is the transition from eight thematic units per subject per year to six. The change aims to reduce the content of curricula, allowing students to better grasp lessons.
The new curricula will also include new lessons and methodology for science and mathematics, as well as civic education, history, and geography. The reforms are similar to those the ministry made for Islamic education curricula in 2016.
Changes will also cover the pedagogy of teaching foreign languages. According to the press release, Arabic and foreign languages lessons will share similar themes, allowing students to easily make connections between their native language and foreign languages.
The themes will include several new topics, such as the economy, social relations, and technology.
To implement the changes, pedagogical teams at the Ministry of Education rewrote all the official primary school course books. Over a dozen conferences and meetings took place in preparation of the new curricula.
The reformed curricula fall within Morocco’s 2015-2030 vision for educational reform, aiming to improve the education system.
Start date of 2020-2021 school year
The announced changes came one day after Amzazi revealed the start date of the 2020-2021 school year.
According to a press release issued on August 6, the school year will officially begin on September 1, with administrative staff joining their departments.
Teachers will begin their official duty on September 2. Meanwhile, students will get back to school on September 7.
Between September 7 and October 3, students will revise lessons from the previous school year. Schools across Morocco are set to launch the updated curricula on October 5.
The ministry did not explicitly specify if students will study in schools or from their homes. However, Amzazi pledged that the school year will take place “normally.”
