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Rabat – Despite the ongoing boycott by medical and pharmacy students in Morocco, the government announced on Tuesday that the current exam schedule will remain unchanged. Under the current calendar, the spring session is scheduled to start on June 26, the retake session is set to take place before the end of August, and the retake exams for the first semester are scheduled for September.
The origins of the boycott trace back to 2022, when the Moroccan Ministries of Health and Higher Education decided to reduce the duration of medical studies from seven years to six years. The decision was met with widespread disapproval among students, who feared that the quality of their education and training would be compromised.
Since then, students have organized a series of small-scale protests and demonstrations. After nearly two years of waiting for a resolution, the situation reached a tipping point on December 16, 2023, when medical students voted overwhelmingly to enter into an open boycott.
“This decision was backed by 91% of the students, with a national participation rate of 93%,” a student representative told Morocco World News under condition of anonymity.
In a press briefing today, the government spokesperson Mustapha Baitas said that the government will take measures to compensate for missed hospital training periods starting from the next academic year.
He noted that zero scores will be replaced with the scores obtained during the first semester’s retake exams. The government will also reconsider disciplinary actions in response to students’ “initiatives” to take exams on June 26.
Read also: Medical Students Boycott: Education Minister Warns of Dire Consequences to Academic Year
The briefing highlighted that a ministerial meeting was held on June 21 in Rabat, attended by the Ministers of Health and Higher Education, along with the deans of medical and pharmacy faculties and representatives of medical and pharmacy students.
During the meeting, the government emphasized its full responsibility for ensuring the quality of medical training in the country and called on all involved parties, especially students and their parents, to fulfill their responsibilities within this educational and pedagogical framework.
The government also addressed what it described as widespread “misconceptions” and “negative narratives” surrounding the issue, asserting that such misinformation does not facilitate constructive solutions.
In addition, it stressed its commitment to understanding the legitimate concerns aimed at improving the health training system and said it presented its clear and transparent vision for medical training reform.
Baitas added that during the meeting, the ministers detailed the pedagogical reforms for medical and pharmacy training, ensuring the quality of medical education and eliminating inefficiencies in the training process. They also outlined measures taken to address various student demands.
Key reforms include implementing a new pedagogical structure for the Doctor of Medicine degree starting from the 2024-2025 academic year. This includes adopting a new national pedagogical framework that would maintain a six-year training period while preserving the academic and legal value of the diploma.
The new training system will incorporate modules to equip students with competencies in digitalization, artificial intelligence, telemedicine, family medicine, simulation, life skills, self-development, and foreign languages, Baitas added.
