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Doha – Morocco’s Lycée d’Excellence de Benguérir (Lydex) has secured the fourth position among institutions preparing students for France’s prestigious École Polytechnique (X), according to a new ranking published by French magazine L’Etudiant on Tuesday.
The Moroccan institution follows closely behind Paris’s Henri-IV, which ranks third, while Louis-le-Grand and Sainte-Geneviève occupy the first and second positions respectively in the Mathematics-Physics (MP) stream rankings.
According to L’Etudiant’s report, 7% of students admitted to École Polytechnique between 2020 and 2024 came from Lydex, which is “generally reserved for the most brilliant students in the country.”
This achievement builds on a consistent track record of success. In 2022, Lydex had 24 students qualify for Polytechnique’s entrance exams, including six female students – making it the only Moroccan institution to place women in the oral examination phase that year.
In 2023, the institution set a record with 20 students gaining admission to Polytechnique, representing one-third of places allocated to international students.
The success of Lydex, founded in 2015 in Ben Guerir’s Mohammed VI Green City, reflects a broader pattern of Moroccan academic excellence in France.
Campus France’s 2024 report indicates that Moroccan students constitute the largest foreign student community in France, with 45,162 students enrolled during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Notably, Morocco leads in engineering school enrollments with 6,110 students, marking a 26% increase between 2017 and 2022.
Rémi Chautard, a French mathematics professor, highlighted the high standards of Moroccan mathematics education in a recent assessment.
“We couldn’t give this to our French students; it wouldn’t even be conceivable,” he told Le Figaro, referring to Morocco’s 2024 baccalaureate mathematics examination.
He noted that some concepts in the Moroccan exam aren’t even covered in French terminal year programs.
Lydex’s success is attributed to its rigorous academic program and comprehensive support system. “Students receive not only high-level training with dedicated Moroccan teachers from national education but are also coached to develop communication skills and gain confidence in oral presentations,” explained Ahmed Benzzi, Lydex’s director, in August 2023.
The institution holds social inclusion as paramount, with 90% of students receiving full scholarships. Additional financial support is provided to students from disadvantaged backgrounds for supplementary expenses.
The residential campus model includes sports activities to help students manage the intensive study program’s demands.
Historical data shows consistent performance: in 2019, 11 out of 15 Lydex candidates successfully passed Polytechnique’s oral examinations, followed by 17 out of 21 in 2020, and 11 out of 25 in 2021.
Earlier this year, in February, L’Etudiant magazine had ranked Lydex second in the MP stream rankings, with approximately 16% of its graduates accessing École Polytechnique, before dropping to its current fourth position in the magazine’s latest December rankings.
Read also: Moroccan Students Win Four Medals at 4th Arab Math Olympiad in Doha
