Rabat – Starting from this school year, Ph.D. candidates in Morocco will have to provide proof of English and French language mastery through TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and DALF (Advanced Diploma in French Language) certificates.
Morocco’s Minister of Higher Education Abdellatif Miraoui announced the decision yesterday at a press conference, stressing the need for a new cohort of Moroccan Ph.D. holders that possess the linguistic and digital skills necessary to become future university professors.
“In order to become university professors, they [Ph.D. students] need to have expertise” in a wide range of areas, including proficiency in French and English, as well as digital and personal skills, Miraoui stressed.
The minister highlighted Morocco’s efforts toward improving its scientific research and higher education, with producing competent and skilled university graduates being the first step toward achieving this goal.
The Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education has created new programs and majors, which are taught exclusively in English. “We now have 21 training programs in English in private and partner universities, ten new licenses, seven master’s programs, and one Ph.D. program in medicine, all taught 100% in English for the school year 2022-2023,” Miaraoui added.
In addition, several Moroccan universities have included new subjects – taught in English – within their programs, Miraoui noted.The minister added that around 12,000 university students will be taught at least one subject in English this year.
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“We want to strengthen majors in English in order to offer students the opportunity to pick the English language for their university path,” he said. The only Moroccan university that offered such programs was Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, he highlighted, hoping that all Moroccan universities would follow suit.
Miraoui hoped that Moroccan university students would be able to fluently speak three languages – Arabic, English, and French – with the aim of overcoming the challenges of integrating into the job market.
Starting from this school year, all new university students will have to undergo diagnostic tests in both English and French, the ministry added. His ministry also considers creating platforms that aim to help students learn English and French.
Earlier this month, Morocco’s Minister of National Education, Pre-School, and Sports Chakib Benmoussa announced his ministry’s plans to increase the number of English teachers this school year.
Morocco’s shift towards the English language proves that the country acknowledges the value and relevance of the globalized language in the current international context, particularly in academia and the job market.
In addition, Morocco’s efforts echo the demands of a growing number of Moroccans who are calling for the replacement of French, and the adoption of English as the country’s primary foreign language.
