Casablanca – With parents concerned about growing textbook prices, the Moroccan government has announced it will provide publishers with a MAD 105 million ($9.9 million) subsidy in order to maintain price stability and the purchasing power of citizens.
This assistance will be provided to publishers of primary and secondary school textbooks printed during the 2022-23 academic year.
However, this government program will have no bearing on the other school levels nor the other types of educational programs.
Morocco’s Compensation Fund will pay the subsidies while also assuring the application of the support system offered to the textbook publishers.
Given the price inflation across all sectors, Moroccan textbook publishers recently announced plans to raise textbook prices by 30%, prompting the government to boost the selling price subsidies to 25% in their favor.
Read also: Stabilizing Textbook Prices ‘A National Priority’ for Morocco
This subsidy decision was announced last week during the weekly meeting of the Council of Government on August 25, in Rabat.
At a press briefing held after the government meeting, the government spokesman, Mustapha Baitas, warned against “any illegal increase” in rates, adding that the government “would react with the necessary rigor.”
Morocco’s Ministry of National Education has decided to keep textbook prices the same following a series of consultations with the Interministerial Pricing Committee.
Although the state funds 70% of elementary-level textbooks as part of the Million Backpacks initiative, the government made certain that existing textbook prices were maintained to avoid crises for parents.
There were similar rises in books and tuition fees in 2018, prompting outrage among parents. School supplies cost up to MAD 4,000 ($400) per household that year, a hefty sum for an ordinary Moroccan family.
