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Rabat – On Wednesday night, police forces violently intervened to disperse a sit-in held by medical students outside the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rabat.
Accompanied by their parents, hundreds of students were prevented from setting up tents or parking nearby, prompting them to shift their sit-in to a nearby street where they staged a massive demonstration.
They directed chants at Minister of Higher Education Abdellatif Miraoui, firmly rejecting the proposed one-year reduction in their training years.
According to various medical student pages, as many as 15 students were arrested during the protest.
The demonstrators held both the government and Miraoui responsible for the rising tensions in medical faculties across the country, with slogans like “Miraoui… zero” and “Shame on this official… shame on this minister” echoing through the crowd, condemning the handling of a crisis that has lasted nearly ten months.
A video of Minister Miraoui addressing Moroccan medical students went viral following yesterday’s events. “I speak to all Moroccan youth in medical faculties, fear nothing, you have the state to protect you,” he said in the video. This message was juxtaposed with footage of the violence that erupted during the protest, showcasing a stark contrast between his reassurances and the reality faced by the students.
Medical students rise against reform
A medical student told Morocco World News, “We, the students from the first to fifth year in the seven-year medical program, are confronting a serious issue. Recently, the Ministry of Education unexpectedly announced a reduction of our program from seven years to six, right in the middle of our studies. This abrupt change is deeply concerning, as we have already committed to a seven-year path. It casts major doubt on the practicality of compressing two years into just one.”
The student added, “There are many points of contention regarding this reform. However, what troubles us most is that our student representatives, who work hard to represent our concerns, have been unfairly marginalized by the faculty. This situation leaves us feeling deeply ignored and unsupported during this crucial period.
“The medical students at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rabat organized a peaceful sit-in, which had full approval from the authorities. However, to our astonishment, the police intervened violently against the students. It feels like no one is willing to hear our demands. We have been on a boycott for ten months and have already lost an entire year of our studies. We urgently need assistance.”
A statement from the National Commission of Medical, Dental, and Pharmacy Students reported that security forces aggressively intervened to dismantle the sit-in, causing fainting spells and injuries among students. Videos went viral, depicting the troubling scenes, featuring students fainting and intense confrontations with authorities.
The videos captured chants from the protest, including “Seven years or nothing,” “No, no, and a thousand times no to this deplorable reform,” and “A year off is better than a bleak future.”
Students called on the government to redirect its efforts from stifling their struggles to addressing their demands and reevaluating Minister Miraoui’s stance.
Public outcry grows in support of medical students’ demands
People took to social media to express their support for the students. One user on X posted: “To be clear, medical students do not deserve this injustice. They are the future doctors of our country, and the public needs to stand by the victims for as long as possible. Enough is enough.”
While Morocco’s future doctors expressed a strong desire to avoid confrontation with security forces during the sit-in’s dispersal, they voiced disappointment over the suppression of their protests, which served as their primary avenue for voicing out their concerns.
They reiterated their key demand for improved education quality to ensure they can deliver effective medical services to citizens and participate in social protection initiatives.
In reaction to what they termed a “repressive and violent intervention” against their “comrades and peers from the faculties of medicine and pharmacy in Rabat,” medical students in Casablanca declared a warning sit-in outside the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in their city, set to take place from Thursday, September 26, at 6 p.m. until Friday, September 27, at 7 a.m.
Since December 2023, medical students in Morocco have been boycotting classes, training, and exams in response to unresolved issues related to the quality of their education. Central to their protests is the government’s decision to reduce their medical training by one year, a move that has sparked criticism and raised concerns about declining standards.
Other contributing factors include overcrowded classrooms and hospitals, uncertainties surrounding the restructuring of the third cycle of medical studies, and specific problems within individual medical faculties.
