Rabat – The King Fahd Higher School of Translation in Tangier issued a statement, apologizing to Moroccans for its recent controversy over the classification of Tamazight as a foreign language on its student application website.
In a statement, the school asserted that the incident was an “unintentional mistake,” reassuring the public that the issue has been rectified.
“The document has been published correctly across all platforms,” the statement added, reiterating commitment to formalize the official status of the Amazigh language by including it in the school’s training presentation and establishing a new translation program.
The controversy came about when the King Fahd school announced that its candidates would undergo a three-phase testing process, including a translation exam from Arabic into several “foreign languages” such as French, English, Spanish, German, and Tamazight.
In response, many described the school’s act as a “blatant violation of the constitution.”
The Moroccan constitution recognizes Tamazight as one of Morocco’s official languages alongside Arabic.
This controversy comes as the government is currently planning to expand Tamazight learning across Morocco’s education curriculum.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Education unveiled its plans for the upcoming academic year 2024-2025, covering different developments, programs, and projects.
The primary focus will be dedicated to the expansion of English and Amazigh language education.
The ministry aims to increase the number of educational institutions offering Amazigh language courses, targeting a 50% coverage rate by the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.
The ministry said it plans to recruit 600 specialized professors for Amazigh language instruction, as well as annually train at least 2,000 dual-discipline teachers to facilitate this expansion.
