Rabat – Students of medical and pharmacy faculty in Morocco are continuing to engage in protests against government reforms, including the cabinet’s decision to shorten medical education by one year.
On Monday, Students of medical and pharmacy faculty in Rabat staged an on-campus protest calling on the health and education ministries to return to the negotiations table and address their list of demands.
The protest sought to condemn the government’s “reluctance to engage in constructive dialogue” to solve their demands for adequate training.
Medical student at the protestor chanting slogans
“They took a decision to reduce the number of years of our education from seven to six years. And they expected us to accept it without any clarifications, without any changes that should be accompanying this decision,” Amira El Mir, a second-year medical student and representative of second-year medical students told Morocco World News (MWN).
In February 2023, Morocco’s Minister of Higher Education Abdellatif Miraoui reported the governmental decision to reduce the duration of medical training in the country from seven to six years in a note to presidents of public universities.
In the note, Miraoui wrote that the reform aims to meet the objectives of Morocco’s New Development Model and the national project to extend health insurance (AMO) to every Moroccan.
Given the shortage of medical professionals, the country made the decision to reduce the training period for medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry students by one year.
The decision drew widespread backlash, as many healthcare professionals and students warned of the potential impact the decision could have on the quality of education.
Medical students holding signs in the on campus protest
“Our education affects in a direct way, the public health and the health of Moroccan citizens. And there is nobody who’s going to care more about Moroccan citizen’s health than their future doctors?” El Mir added.
Following numerous rounds of talks with the government, students say that the government is failing to address their demands.
El Mir emphasized that students are boycotting all exams and not attending classes.
“We are in an open boycott. We are boycotting exams, practical classes, and theoretical classes,” she pointed out.
Students, however, have expressed their willingness to return to the negotiation table to find a middle ground with the government.
Yasser Akif, a student representative of the fifth year of general medicine and a member of the National Commission of Pharmaceutical Medicine Student in Morocco also shared his frustration over the announced reforms.
He told MWN that the protest seeks to show students’ anger and frustration toward the decision and the government’s silence on their demands.
“We are here open for discussions. We are here to get answers as soon as possible,” Akif said, adding that their demands have been ignored since 2020.
“They’ve been ignoring us and not trying to fix our problem since 2020, after the decision to reduce from study medicine, from 7th to 6th years of studies.”
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