Doha – Abdelaziz Bendou has been relieved of his duties as president of Ibn Zohr University in Agadir following a major corruption scandal involving the sale of master’s degrees.
According to multiple converging reports, the Minister of Higher Education, Azzedine El Midaoui, made the decision on Tuesday.
The dismissal comes after an investigation into what has become known in media circles as the “Master’s Degree Scandal” or “Kilch Master’s,” involving fraudulent enrollment in master’s programs at the university’s Faculty of Law.
The scandal erupted when authorities arrested a university professor suspected of illegally registering several employees and lawyers in a master’s program without following proper regulations, in exchange for bribes.
The professor is currently being held at the Oudaya prison in Marrakech while the investigation continues.
Following the initial revelations, the Minister of Higher Education summoned both the university president and the dean of the Faculty of Law to Rabat for questioning.
This meeting was part of a broader effort to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged sale of university certificates.
El Midaoui then dispatched a central inspection committee to the university. Based on the committee’s findings, the minister decided to dismiss Bendou, who had been serving as president since 2020.
As an interim measure, Abderrahmane Amsidder, the current director of the Higher School of Education and Training (ESEF) in Agadir, has been appointed as acting president and financial officer of the university effective Wednesday. He will serve in this capacity until a new president is officially appointed.
In an official letter addressed to Amsidder, Minister El Midaoui stated: “To maintain the normal operation of Ibn Zohr University in Agadir, I am informing you that you have been appointed as acting president of the university and its financial officer starting Wednesday, June 11, 2025, until a new president is appointed. I wish you success in your duties.”
The investigation has also implicated several other individuals, including the professor’s wife who works as a lawyer in Agadir, the head clerk at the Court of First Instance in Safi, his son who is a trainee lawyer, and several other lawyers.
These individuals are being investigated while remaining free, though their passports have been confiscated and they are banned from leaving the country.
This case represents one of the most serious corruption scandals in Morocco’s higher education sector in recent years, severely damaging the reputation of Ibn Zohr University, one of the country’s largest academic institutions.
It comes only three years after the notorious “Sex for Grades” scandal of 2022, when several professors at Hassan I University in Settat were arrested and convicted of sexually harassing female students in exchange for academic incentives.
Sources close to the case indicate that further decisions related to this file may be forthcoming as investigations continue under the supervision of the competent public prosecutor’s office.
