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Rabat – Teachers filled Mohamed V Avenue in Rabat on Tuesday to protest a new education reform known as the “New Basic System.”
Organized by the National Federation for Education, a labor union, the march was endorsed by several labor unions and included teachers from across Morocco.
Protesters held posters that read “Together to protect public schools” and “Say no to impoverishing teachers.”
Teachers holding banners in the Rabat march on Tuesday
Their main demand was for the Ministry of Education to scrap the new reform, which they say is unjust as it burdens teachers with extra workload without offering any compensation in return.
One of the protesting teachers told Morocco World News that the reform constitutes the “most dangerous law that has ever been introduced in the education sector in Morocco.”
“Our battle is legitimate,” he said, explaining that the massive number of teachers who have taken to the streets is a testament to the gravity of the situation. According to this teacher, the massive protest took place despite what he claimed were “deliberate attempts to disrupt public transportation to stop teachers from coming to Rabat.”
Scenes from the Tuesday protest
Since the start of the 2023-24 school year, education in Morocco has been crippled by ongoing protests.
Labor unions announced that they would continue their protests by calling on teachers not to stay out of class for three more days this week to force the government back to the negotiation table.
Read Also: Teachers’ Union in Morocco Call for Three-Day Strike Next Week
In response, the government made a series of pay cuts to teachers who had gone on strike the previous year and said it would continue to make pay cuts if teachers did not return to the classroom, in an attempt to avert more wasted school hours.
“Collective rejection for the tragic reform,” a poster held by a protester reads
The decision has sparked outrage among the unions, who see it as a violation of workers’ right to go on strike.
Last week, the Minister of Education Chakib Benmoussa said in comments during a House of Representatives session that the mandate “does not cover raising salaries,” emphasizing that the issue should be discussed separately outside of the framework of the new reform.
“The school, as a space for learning, should have its staff working as a team towards the set objectives,” Benmoussa added, stressing: “We provide the means, we are the team, and we motivate it, and we haven’t asked anyone to do more than what they are currently doing.”
The Ministry of Education estimated that no less than 90,000 teachers, representing 30% of the total workforce in the education sector, are currently on strike.
