Marrakech – A fierce controversy has erupted across Morocco’s higher education landscape as new regulations force employees and civil servants to enroll exclusively in costly “flexible schedule” programs to obtain university degrees at all levels – from bachelor’s to doctoral studies.
The Ministry of Higher Education, led by Azzedine El Midaoui, has implemented new pedagogical regulations that eliminate written and oral entrance exams for master’s programs, replacing them with a file selection process.
While this change was initially welcomed as potentially reducing favoritism and clientelism, critics caution that it excludes large groups of students from competing for master’s program slots.
They note that relying exclusively on grade point averages remains problematic, particularly given the social and psychological circumstances that can negatively affect many otherwise distinguished students during their bachelor’s examinations.
At the same time, the accompanying decision to mandate that all employees and income earners must pay for flexible schedule programs has sparked widespread rejection.
Costs for these programs vary between universities but generally range from MAD 30,000 to MAD 50,000 ($3,000–$5,000) for a two-year master’s program. For many employees and civil servants with modest salaries, these amounts represent an insurmountable financial burden.
Mohammed V University in Rabat has already been requiring employees to register in the flexible schedule program for years, charging fees for this option.
Decision No. 1891.25, issued on July 25, regarding the national pedagogical guidelines for master’s programs, has become a flashpoint for controversy. This decision stipulates that admission will be determined solely through application review without organizing any competitive entrance examinations.
In early July, El Midaoui confirmed in the House of Representatives that for master’s and doctoral programs, “the proportion allocated to non-students will be regulated; as 70-80% of their students are civil servants and private sector employees,” which according to him requires directing them toward “flexible schedule training” instead of regular training.
Amendments steer higher education toward creeping privatization
The Moroccan Union for Higher Education and Scientific Research has issued a strong statement rejecting these changes. In an emergency meeting held on Wednesday, the union’s national office declared its “complete rejection of law 59.24 governing higher education – in approach, spirit, structure, and provisions.”
The union characterized the law as “a major setback and a legal regression in the higher education sector, deliberately targeting all the gains that research professors have accumulated throughout a long history of struggle.”
The union stressed that the law in its current form “constitutes a dangerous retreat from university values and the historical functions of the university” as it “undermines acquired rights, attacks the identity, autonomy and powers of the university, stifles academic freedom, diminishes democracy, and marginalizes the role of research professors while reducing their representation in decision-making structures.”
Student organizations have added their voices to the opposition. In a joint statement, the National Coordination of Engineering Students, the National Committee of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy Students, and the National Union of Moroccan Students expressed their “categorical rejection of the unilateral approach” used to draft the law.
The student organizations specifically rejected the deletion of Articles 71, 72, and 73 from Law 01.00, which was issued in 2000.
They pointed out that while this law was enacted under an older constitution, it contained clear and explicit articles guaranteeing students’ right to organize within their university institutions and manage their internal affairs through representative bodies (organizations, associations, student councils and offices).
The student groups pointed out that the recent amendments, despite being issued under the 2011 Constitution that explicitly guarantees freedom of expression, organization, and associative work, have deliberately eliminated these essential provisions.
According to them, this starkly contrasts with the spirit and principles of the Constitution, which guarantee individual and collective rights and freedoms.
They also rejected “all direct or indirect formulations that pave the way for the privatization of higher education and undermine the principle of equal opportunities.”
Draft law advanced without genuine participatory input
In parliament, Hassan Oumribte, a member from the Party of Progress and Socialism, has formally questioned El Midaoui. Oumribte noted that the Moroccan constitution enshrines principles of fairness, equality, and equal opportunity in accessing public services and education.
He insisted that the right to education is a fundamental right that the state must facilitate access to, making it compulsory in its early stages and free at all levels and specializations, as stipulated in Framework Law 51.17
“The Ministry’s approach toward generalizing ‘flexible scheduling’ for all employees wishing to continue their university studies has undermined the noble mission of public universities that strive to provide quality free public education to all students away from privilege and discrimination,” Oumribte stated.
He further explained that while this system has been implemented in some Moroccan universities, “it will become mandatory under law 59.24 on higher education and scientific research, as Article 81 stipulates adopting ‘flexible scheduling’ in basic training programs for public and private sector workers and all persons wishing to do so.”
The parliamentary opposition questioned what measures the Ministry is taking “to preserve the lofty mission of Moroccan universities and make them spaces for academic achievement and fair competition based on equality, merit, and equal opportunities.”
For her part, parliament member Fatima Tamni from the Federation of the Democratic Left also submitted a written question to the minister regarding the law, which was officially approved yesterday by the Government Council
She argued that “the absence of professors, unions, and students in drafting the project raises major questions about the seriousness of the participatory approach.”
With strong opposition from faculty unions, student organizations, and parliamentarians, this controversy threatens to derail the upcoming academic year if the ministry doesn’t reconsider these controversial policies that many see as a step toward the privatization of higher education in Morocco.
This is especially troubling as it comes during the summer, with many suspecting the timing of such a move.
