Education, Culture, and Communication Committee at House of Representatives Reviews Situation of National Education with Minister in Charge Said Amzazi
The Education, Culture, and Communication Committee at the House of Representatives held a meeting on Tuesday, June 30th, 2020, under the chairmanship of the Committee's chairperson Mohammed Mellal, with Minister of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education, and Scientific Research and Government Spokesperson Said Amzazi. The meeting was devoted to discussing eight topics related to the situation of education in our country.
The deputies representing the parliamentary groups and caucus initiated the meeting by raising several questions for discussion with the Minister. The participants unanimously commended the efforts of the Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education, and Scientific Research to provide the pedagogical, human, and logistical resources to ensure the success of distance learning, and to ensure the continuity of the school year despite the challenges dictated by COVID-19.
The deputies stressed "the importance of preparing all the conditions to ensure equality of opportunities between the candidates who will sit for final-year exams, and providing the resources to take all the measures that protect the health safety of candidates and assure them, to help them take the exams in good conditions."
As for the learning process, the deputies focused on the students' access to information, considering the challenges that arise from distance learning through internet and national television channels, and the tutoring books that were directed at students of rural areas, where, according to the participants, many students undergo problems in learning and acquisition. Also, the deputies called for an approach that puts rural areas at the heart of regional justice. The deputies also called for providing students from those areas with the resources to access distance learning platforms like schools in other regions.
Besides, the Committee members raised the issue of paying tuition fees for private schools. In this respect, they urged the Ministry "to find a consensus formula between the parties, especially considering that several Moroccan families suffer financial issues." The deputies also called for implementing the provisions of the Framework Law 51.17 on the system of education, training, and scientific research. They also affirmed that "private schools should show a spirit of solidarity and patriotism as they are key actors and partners in education."
Regarding higher education and entrance exams for limited-access schools, the deputies praised the Ministry's decision to rely on pre-selection via the online platform “tawjih” instead of the regular procedure of pre-selection and written exams. In the same respect, they called the Ministry to provide all the health assurances to host the entrance exams for medicine, dentistry, and pharmacology schools in adequate circumstances. Also, they questioned the management of the period of exams in universities and vocational training institutions.
In his response to the deputies' comments, the Minister affirmed that "his department has prepared all the conditions nationwide to ensure that students take their exams in safe and protected circumstances." He also stated that "the Kingdom has decided to finish the school year despite the exceptional circumstances it underwent due to COVID-19." As regards the figures related to the baccalaureate exams, Mr. Amzazi stated that "441,238 candidates will sit for the exams, 64% of them study in public schools while 8% in private ones and 28% (122,000) are independent candidates. Also, 49% of the candidates are females."
The Minister also noted that "the number of candidates has increased by 0.4% compared to last year. This increase is due to an increase of 12.5% in the numbers of independent candidates, and 7% in candidates from private schools. However, the number of candidates from public schools has decreased by 5%."
Besides, Mr. Amzazi stressed that "private schools should take into consideration the situation of some families,” adding that “the Ministry's position is to ensure communication between private schools and families so that they reach an agreement." He also noted that "some private schools have delayed the payment of fees or lowered them while some of them suspended the payment."
The Speaker stated to the Committee members that "there are 5,828 private schools in Morocco that host 1,046,000 students." In this respect, he highlighted that the "private sector performs a public service and is an extension of the public sector.” He added that “80% of private schools are micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises that are on the verge of bankruptcy as they get their revenues from the fees paid by families."
On another note, the Minister stated that "his department will conduct a unified entrance exam for the medicine, dentistry, and pharmacology schools,” adding that “the baccalaureate holders will undertake the exams in their cities, and the Ministry has created 45 exam centers for this purpose.” Mr. Amzazi also stated that “the students will later be categorized regionally following the regular procedure."