Marrakech – Parents of medical, dental, and pharmacy students in Morocco organized a sit-in on Saturday in front of the Parliament building in the capital city of Rabat.
The demonstration, dubbed “The Sit-in of Anger and Supplication,” aimed to support their children’s ongoing strike and demands for improved medical training conditions.
The parents expressed their frustration with the government’s handling of the students’ demands, which has led to a suspension of dialogue, a waste of academic time, and an escalation of the crisis.
They called for an urgent resumption of negotiations to save the current academic year and prevent further deterioration of the situation in medical and pharmacuetical schools across the country.
The protesters denounced the reduction of clinical training hours from 4,500 to 3,900, considering it an injustice to their children.
They also criticized the lack of serious and responsible interaction from the authorities to address the students’ concerns.
The parents warned of the grave consequences this crisis could have on the future competence of medical and pharmaceutical professionals and the success of the country’s healthcare system reform project.
Despite some signs of progress in early June, the parents lamented the unilateral scheduling of second-semester exams by the Ministry of Higher Education at an inappropriate time for the students. This decision led to a boycott rate of over 96% among the students.
The parents urged the authorities to intervene urgently, reopen dialogue, and negotiate seriously with the students to avoid a “blank year” scenario, which seems imminent if effective solutions are not found quickly.
According to the National Commission of Medical, Dental, and Pharmacy Students (CNEMEP), 94% of medical students nationwide boycotted the exams that began on Wednesday, June 26, in response to their call. The commission conducted a survey revealing that more than 90% of medical students supported the exam boycott.
The students have been on strike for seven months, demanding improvements in medical training conditions, the reversal of decisions to reduce the duration of studies, and a limit on the number of students admitted to already overcrowded schools. The overcrowding complicates student placements for internships in hospitals and health centers.
The parents appealed to King Mohammed VI to intervene and issue orders for an urgent resolution to the crisis, preserving the rights of this group of students and ensuring the success of the royal project to reform the country’s healthcare system.
The government has refrained from commenting on the students’ exam boycott. Government Spokesperson Mustapha Baitas stated that he had nothing to add following a special meeting held on Tuesday, June 25.
Baitas accused the students of spreading “inaccurate fallacies” about the issue, emphasizing that the government had expressed its understanding of the legitimacy of some concerns related to the quality of training and remained committed to reforming medical education.
As the crisis in medical and pharmacy schools deepens, the specter of a “blank year” looms larger than ever. The students maintain that the government has pushed them to this point, while the government insists on holding exams on a date “unilaterally set by the Ministry of Higher Education.”
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