Students of Morocco’s National Schools of Applied Sciences (ENSA) organized on November 11-13 a series of protests against the “random and not-well-thought-out” creation of new ENSA schools.
In a public statement, the National Coordination of ENSA Students in Morocco denounced the planned establishment of new ENSA schools in Meknes and Sidi Ifni.
The ENSA network currently comprises 13 schools, including two that opened last year in Berrechid and Beni Mellal.
The students condemn the opening of new schools while the existing ones lack the equipment and conditions required for decent learning.
“Improve rather than expand” and “Quality over quantity” were some of the slogans that engineering students across Morocco chanted.
According to the students’ coordination, the budgets allocated for the opening of the new schools should go towards improving the quality of existing infrastructures.
The students consider the opening of new ENSA schools to tarnish the reputation of the institution and its graduate engineers, as the new facilities do not meet requirements to provide high-quality training for their students.
ENSA is one of Morocco’s most reputable engineering schools. However, its students believe that it will lose its prestige if it becomes too easy to access.
The coordination suggested the reestablishment of written entry exams to maintain the competitiveness of ENSA. Traditionally, students needed to pass a written test for acceptance to the engineering school.
However, a recent decision from the Ministry of Education abolished the entry exam and adopted entry based exclusively on the marks obtained in the national baccalaureate exam.
Students warned that they will upscale their protests if the Ministry of Higher Education does not respond to their demands.
