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Rabat – The Moroccan government is preparing to launch a national council for scientific research in order to help universities to strengthen their scientific and research institutions.
The government adopted the new initiative in accordance with article 16 of framework law No. 51.17 during its Council of Government meeting held on June 24, 2021, in the presence of local and international researchers. Dr. Abdellah Benahnia, an international researcher at SIST British Education Morocco explained to University World News that the decision is a “wise step” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The council will be led by Morocco’s Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani. He is tasked with providing oversight for Morocco’s higher education and scientific research.. The council will be responsible for developing potential governmental policies in terms of science, research, and innovation.
The London-based news organization emphasized that “scientific research is the engine for economic, social, and cultural growth,” and Morocco’s efforts are a good step towards improving the country’s innovation capacity.
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Benahnia believes that the council must work on limiting the influence of trans-continental companies and various global research centers on Morocco’s “local scientific product.” Instead, the Moroccan government should promote stronger links between the country’s scientific research efforts and its cultural, economic, educational, and social initiatives.
The professor also stressed the need for the council to initiate scientific chairs funded by Morocco’s major national companies, with the objective of providing them with the budget to overcome universal obstacles and strengthen their resilience in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But considering Morocco’s struggle with “scientific productivity,” the growing concerns of brain drain, and the worry of economic stagnation, the council must be ready to mobilize on various fronts. The professor stressed that the scientific body must limit the “emigration of national scientific minds and technological brains and exporting them abroad by setting a mechanism of high motivation and reward.”
